How It Feels To Hatch
by Zeer
Summary: Shino's bugs decide to take his destiny into their hands. See how Shino's life, and those around him, change as a result.
1. Dreams and Squirmy Stomachs

Welcome all to my second fanfiction story, this, as promised, is going to be fixed around the Naruto anime and manga, though this one is going to be based mainly on the character Shino and will be set on his point of view unless I deem otherwise

**Welcome to my second fanfiction story, this, as promised, is going to be fixed around the Naruto anime and manga, though this one is going to be based mainly on the character Shino and will be set on his point of view unless I deem otherwise. **

**Not exactly sure where I'm headed with this one only that I hope it's somewhere good. **

**Read and Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto be not owned my moi.**

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 1: Dreams and Squirmy Stomachs**_

XXXXX

I knew it was a dream as soon as my being focused on the surroundings. This, unfortunately, still didn't allow me to see much, only intense inky blackness. It was my other senses that informed me of the unrealism.

My small hands felt around, running against the rough sticky material that was wrapped tightly around my naked body. Outside I could hear the numerous clicks and chatters of my tiny friends as they explored around my entrapment. Despite the overwhelming feeling of it all I was not afraid. Quite the contrary.

In here I felt safe, I felt comfortable. I knew my friends were only a mere centimeter or so away from me, they were always close, and with them I was never alone. I felt a rare smile creep over my face at this thought and I snuggled more closely into the darkness. Inside, however, I knew this would not last.

I've had this dream many times before, knew what to expect as soon as I got too comfortable, but it still did not take away the fear I felt when the rough wall around me begin to shift and turn. In desperation I tried clinging onto the walls, in an attempt to stay what was coming next for as long as possible. But it was inevitable.

A brightness far too painful to describe erupted my surroundings, forcing me to shield my eyes and cry out. Even though I could not see it, from memory I knew that the giant crack had formed in my home, and I knew it was trying to beckon me closer, in and out. I knew it was futile but my desire to stay fought against obviousness, fought against fact.

With my eyes still tightly closed I once again tore at the walls with my tiny fingers, searching for something, _anything, _to grab on to, the pull was already starting to overcome my body. I could feel my legs swing out from behind me, already being dragged into the light, I screamed for all I was worth.

_No! Not now! Please I don't want to leave now! You can't make me!_

The pull suddenly become much stronger and I felt myself flying through my home, my hands now only sliding against its wet walls. The warmth of the light bathed my body, it burned.

_No! Don't do this! Please…Please….PLEASE!_

"Shino!"

My eyes snapped open; I was in a cold sweat and breathing heavily, just like every morning this week, every week this month, every month since I heard I was going to Ninja Academy.

"Shino?" My father repeated, I looked over at him as he knelt above me. Even through the sunglasses and high collar I could tell he looked worried, his hand was placed on my shoulder.

"I'm alright father." I grumbled, raising slowly from my bed, shrugging off his hand in the process, "Just another bad dream."

My father let his hand fall to his side, but the folding down of his eyebrows still remained intact. "You nervous about your first day?"

I flinched despite myself, _Man, he was perceptive!, _I quickly grabbed the sunglasses from my nightstand, eager to hide anything that might be given away from my eyes.

"You know you have nothing to fear, my son." I heard him say.

I kept my gaze to the floor, even with my glasses I felt that he could still see right through me, must be a parent thing. "You are a very gifted boy and those other children will learn to respect and admire you."

At this I risked a facial contact and turned to give my dad an incredulous look, even with the glasses I knew he caught it.

"Alright well maybe the girls will take a little bit longer to coax."

I saw the exposed cheeks above his collar rise ever so slightly, a smile. I stood up quickly then, before I let myself be infected by it.

"I need to get ready for school." I said curtly, keeping my face turned away from him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him nod and stand, making his way to the door. I waited until he opened it and was about to step out.

"Thanks." I called softly after him, I didn't know whether he heard it or not, but I did notice him halt for the briefest of seconds before exiting my room and closing the door behind him.

XXXXX

The walk to the academy was the longest I had ever experienced. Even with the cool autumn breeze and sounds of September bugs in the air coaxing me a long I had to continue to fight the urge to turn heel and run all the way back home.

My father could not accompany me, and at first I was gratified to be able to endure this alone but I knew deep down that having him here would have actually made this a lot more durable. I could feel my insides squirm as I made my way through the streets, closer and closer to the Academy, or maybe that was my friends?

I placed a hand on my jacket, near my stomach, where the squirming was most active. After feeling around for a few moments I concluded that it wasn't my friends, I never really felt them while they were inside me anyways, only when they came out to feed or exercise.

It always tickled at first, when they left, it took a few odd years of training before I actually grew used to the tiny things moving in and out of my body, and after that I only grew closer to them. Since the year I was five everyday was spent learning, training, and communicating with my father and my friends, they became a part of me, both physically and emotionally, and I knew there was never going to be another thing I would feel as strongly for than them.

Just then the Konoha Ninja Academy came into view, and instantly all the pleasant thoughts of my friends vanished, only to be replaced by my somersaulting stomach and my pounding heart. I could see children my age walking with their parents, some tugging on arms, eager to enter the school, while others, I figured, looking a lot like how I felt.

One in particular stood out to me as I approached the gates. She was a small girl with scary looking eyes; though those same eyes showed me how uncomfortable and troubled she looked as she clung onto her father's robes. The father held the same eyes as his nervous daughter, only they seemed more hardened and determined as they scanned over the people around him, a hard frown set constantly in his face. I instantly recognized them both as Hyugas.

Just then the father turned his eyes on me, and instantly I felt my whole body stiffen, or was it my friends that were making me do it? The Hyuga's eyes were trained right on mine, and even through my sunglasses I could almost _feel_ the intensity of his gaze. I quickly knew the eyes were what made me freeze though, they were the same pale blankness as the girl's only a heck of a lot scarier looking, and even from this distance I could see the veins protruding around them.

We stood like this for several moments before the smaller Hyuga noticed her father's gaze and following it until she was looking at me as well. I looked slowly back at the girl, finding it to be a hard strain to pull from the older Hyuga, and quickly took notice that despite the creepy blank eyes she was kind of cute. At this sudden thought I felt myself blush, quickly looking down, wishing desperately that father had let me wear my collared jacket.

After several seconds I dared to look up; the two Hyuuga's had finally turned their attention away from me and were heading into the yard in front of the Academy, where all the adults and children were waiting. I let out a relieved sigh, grateful to be out of that Hyuuga's strange jutsu.

With yet another sigh I began to slowly make my way to join the others, only to be halted again when a very familiar buzzing filled my ears. Looking around I quickly spotted one of my friends flying lazily towards me, instantly I gave the little thing a stern look as I held out a finger for it to land on.

"What are you doing out here?" I hissed at it as it landed on my finger. I didn't even feel the little guy leave me, and I certainly didn't order one of my bugs to leave.

Of course my friend didn't reply, only look up at me innocently as if it didn't do anything wrong. For the third time in that single minute I sighed.

"Just get back in." I mumbled, my friend obeying instantly as he crawled up my sleeve and into my body.

Without another word I shoved my hands deep into my pockets and proceeded into the Academy grounds, the nervousness coming back with a vengeance after the recent events of strangeness.

XXXXXX

"Welcome one and all to Konoha's Ninja Academy!" One of the teachers at the entrance of the school announced, and even from the back of the crowd of fresh students and their parents the scar that was etched across his face was as clear as day, "My name is Iruka Umino, and I shall be one of your many instructors during your training here at the Academy."

He then looked around the big gathering of people, a proud smile clearly evident on his face. "You children are in luck today, for our very own Hokage decided to join us and welcome you first years personally!"

Many of the kids around me started to Ooh and Aah after hearing this and a lot of them started to talk excitedly with each other, the parents, I noticed, didn't seem as excited and many seemed to have their gazes fixed on something to my far left, I tried to look but there was way too many tall people blocking my view.

A sudden ripple through the crowd soon caught my attention, following their gazes I looked at the entrance to see all the teachers had dispersed, and in their absence the one and only Third Hokage, Sarutobi. The children, and now even their parents remarked the man with awe, though I couldn't help but give the Hokage a hard stare through my sunglasses. He was the reason my father wasn't with me right now, for he had told me he was being called away on an urgent mission after I had finished getting ready for school earlier today.

"As Iruka said before, welcome young boys and girls to your first year at the Academy." Then the Hokage looked around at us just as Iruka had, only his mouth wasn't drawn in a proud smile, but in a stern line, "Many of you will find our training too tough or too demanding, for those who can not put out the effort and strength of will the ninja life is not for you, but for those who are able to sweat and bleed and overcome the rigorous obstacles placed before you over the next four years you shall step out of these doors as true defenders of our village hidden in the leaf, as true Konoha ninjas!"

At these final words the Hokage's mouth spread into a huge smile and in an instant the crowd of children were in an uproar, cheering and hooting and punching fists into the sky. I watched this spectacle with a calm expression, but on the inside my stomach was now working itself to death, as if it were about to train for the deadly and demanding life of a ninja, and not me.

XXXXXX

A lot of the day passed on uneventfully afterwards. We were separated from out parents and quickly introduced to Iruka, Mizuki, and many more of our instructors. Right after which they thrusted us back outside, telling us that lessons will begin tomorrow and just to "hang out" on our first day.

I quickly went to stand against a tree at the far side of the yard, and taking a quick glance around to make sure no one was looking allowed my friends out of my body. I could feel them squirming throughout the day, not being used to being held inside me for so long, but I couldn't risk letting them out inside and scaring away all of the kids before I even got to know any of them…

As my friends escaped from me and began to stretch their legs and wings I looked around at all the children once again. Many of them seemed to have found their groups of friends already, talking excitedly in huddles. Only a few of them, like me, were alone.

One of them was the Hyuga girl I saw from before. She was standing near the door that we had entered from, her eyes downcast and her hands folded at her hips. She looked just as uncomfortable as she did when I first saw her with her father. With my eyes trained on her I felt my body leave the tree for a split second only to quickly get in control of myself and fall back firmly into my tree.

_Was I just about to walk over to her!?_

I quickly shook my head, trying to clear my brain. No way was I going to walk over to her, not that I wanted to. Growing quickly confused and annoyed with myself I turned my attention to the other person that was alone.

The boy sat quietly at a swing, near the tree I was standing at, though by the faraway look in his eyes I knew he had no idea that I even existed. He clung on to the rope swing as he gently swung himself back and forth, his yellow hair and orange shirt almost shinned as brightly as the sun.

_Weird kid, _I thought about to turn my attention away from him when a sudden buzzing noise zoomed by my face. I only had a moment of surprise before a terrified scream rippled through the air.

"_Auuuuugh!_ Help me help me!" The blonde boy at the swing cried out, I turned quickly back on him to see a swarm of my bugs buzzing around his face, the boy kept on crying out in terror, quickly getting the attention of a lot of the other children.

_No no no no! _I repeated in my head as I ran up to him, _Not on my first day!_

I quickly reached the boy; he had fallen from his swing and was now rolling around on the ground, batting fruitlessly at the bugs that surrounded him. Without another moment's pause I raised both my arms and willed my friends back inside me, they quickly obeyed me.

"Sorry about that…" I whispered, shame and embarrassment filled my face, I could feel the eyes of all of the other children staring at me, though I dared not look. I quickly turned heel and began heading who knows where until I heard a voice cry out.

"Wait!"

I reluctantly turned to see the blonde boy standing back up; I instantly looked away from him. Un-willing to see the horror and disgust I know he'd have on his face. From all the times my bugs had been seen in public I knew _that _look all to well.

"Did you do that?" he asked, and I was forced to look up at him, dumb-founded. For his voice portrayed no sign of uneasiness, in-fact, it sounded like he was amazed. His face did not betray that.

His blue eyes were large and round and he looked at me with nothing less of awe. I shifted uneasily from one foot to another, not at all used to this kind of reaction.

"Well…yes." I answered, and amazingly his eyes seemed to grow even wider.

"That's…so…COOL!" The boy exclaimed, sending be tumbling back a step due to his excitement, "Ya' think you can do it again…pleeeeeease?"

I regarded the boy again; his hands were now clasped together as he basically begged to see my friends again. I had to put a lot of will power into not cracking a very rare smile. Now that the initial surprise of his reaction was gone I had to admit his praising and excitement actually made me feel kind of…good.

"Sure, if that's what you want." I replied coolly, not letting the sudden pride show, I had a reputation to keep after all. I then raised my hands again, my thoughts trained on the rest of my bugs that were now flying or roosting lazily around the tree I was at.

The boy was completely engrossed at was I was doing, his eyes still remaining as wide as possible. When I heard the familiar buzzing of my friends approaching from behind me I had a sudden flashback of my father teaching me a new trick I could do with my friends, about a week before I was to go to the Academy. I found the trick peculiar and when I asked my father what I was supposed to do with it his only reply was.

"_To give your new friends an original Aburame greeting!" _

Back then I had scoffed at such an idea, but now, with the boy trained on every move me or my friends made, I silently thanked my father for being so foolish.

I then mentally directed my friends in the familiar patterns that we learned together a week ago. I could feel them struggling with performing the precise curves and turns that made up the trick, being that we only practiced that one day, but I willed them on. It took several long seconds but finally I had finished, now giving my attention to the blonde boy as he examined the finished piece above my head.

The boy looked up at it for several moments, his face a wave of confusion. I was about to open my mouth and explain when his face suddenly cracked into a smile.

"Hello, my name is Shino Aburame, what is yours?" He read, and then looked back at me, his grin growing wider; it took every ounce of me to not smile back. But then he did the impossible by sticking out his hand towards me.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" The boy greeted, his smile so big I was afraid it was going to tear his face in half, "It's great to meet you Shino!"

I knew I had lost the battle with myself. Watching the boy's bright and confident face as he held his hand out to me I knew there was no point in fighting it anymore. The embarrassment and shame had completely vanished as I smiled back and grasped Naruto's hand, my friends above us bursting from their positions and sailing back into me. Naruto didn't even flinch.

XXXXXX

"How was school?" My father asked as soon as I stepped into the house, the look on his exposed face showed he was genuinely interested but I knew he wasn't expecting much.

I looked back at my father with the most serious face I could make, giving him no reason to think otherwise, making sure he was going to be as surprised as I was.

"I think I made a new friend."

**To Be Continued….**


	2. Uchiha Sasuke

**Another chapter, another hopeful drabble that will tell me where to go with this story. I hope anyone is enjoying this story so far and I'd like to thank the people who have reviewed thus far, praise/ criticism are always good tools of motivation! **

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 2: Uchiha Sasuke**_

XXXXX

The constant buzzing was like a soft melody playing itself directly in my head. I could feel my body swaying gently to the rhythm while my mind seemed to be somewhere else. The trees, flowers, grass, and all wildlife pervaded my nose and eyes with nature while the constant buzz whispered in my ear…softer…softer….softer…

"Shino?"

It was a mere whisper but it caused me to jolt awake instantly, I hadn't even realized I was falling asleep while standing! Shaking away the drowsiness I turned to face the person who had disturbed me. It was my mother.

"What are you doing up so early?" She asked me, she wore no sunglasses and had no collar to disguise the sternness in her features, not that I believe she'd ever want to.

"I rise with the sun." I replied, quoting what my father taught me long ago, "And fall asleep with it, just as the bugs do."

Aburame Amarante was not fooled however, and with a knowing smile she waved at the many windows that surrounded the indoor garden, indicating the lack of sunshine spilling out of their openings.

"So where is the sun, my little konchuu?" My mother asks, ruffling up my bushy hair. I immediately took a few steps away from her, burrowing my face into the high collar of my jacket.

"I don't have a lot of time to let them out during training." I mumbled indicating my friends who were relaxing around the woods near me, "So I get up extra early so they can come out here."

"Oh I see." My mother replied, still giving me the "I caught you" smile and look, she then began to walk around the nursery gazing up at the height of the numerous trees, "Amazing thing our clan grew in here, don't you think?"

"Yes." I replied, looking around with her as well.

The nursery was more like a forest than a garden, the room itself took up nearly a whole acre of land, and the wildlife inside it had completely filled it up. Back when the clan was first build in Konoha the garden was the first thing that was created, the adjourning buildings were soon built around it. The nursery provided us a private breeding ground for our unique destruction beetles as well as training grounds for all Aburame ninjas.

"You know your father might have something to keep that hair out of your eyes." My mother commented, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You should go hunt him down before you go to your training."

I turned to her, completely perplexed at how she went from talking about the garden to my hair. At her blank smiling face I decided that there was no point in asking her how a normal female's brain worked. Surely a female ninja was nothing like this…

"Okay, mother." I replied, raising my arms and willing my friends back inside me. I could sense that the sun was beginning to rise, which meant that so was my father.

My friends immediately obeyed, zooming from their numerous positions in the nursery and back into my body. I took a quick draw in of breath as they crowded under my jacket, it didn't hurt, it just felt really uncomfortable. I couldn't help but notice my mother watching me intently as this was going on but she didn't speak until they were all safely inside my body.

"What does it feel like?" She asked me suddenly as I straightened out my sleeves.

I looked over at her with a raised eyebrow, "Pardon?"

My mother immediately blushed, her eyes looking at anything but me. I found this act very strange and defiantly not like the confident and stern woman I grew up with.

"I'm sorry if it's too personal of a question, I'm always too embarrassed to ask your father but if you don't want to tell me I'd understand…"

"It's fine mother." I cut in, quickly growing uneasy from her uneasiness, "Just ask your question, I'm sure I can answer you."

"Alright." My mother nodded, letting out a breath, "What does it feel like…to have all those bugs inside you?"

Her question threw me off, to say the least. No one had ever bothered to ask me that, not even my father. Though I'm sure that's only because he knew so himself. I regarded my mother curiously; she was looking back at me though I could see it was a growing effort to do so, her face was almost as red as a fly's eye. I wanted to answer her right away to show her she had no reason to be embarrassed but now that I was forced to think about it…

What _did _it feel like?

I looked down at my body placing a hand on several places to see if any of my skin happened to move, nothing did. I then started to move every joint in my body, seeing if maybe I could feel them moving if I was moving, still nothing. I sighed and was about to give up when a sudden idea popped into my head, raising an arm I willed a swarm of my friends out, paying close attention to my body as I did.

_There!_

The feeling was so small, so soft I almost missed it as my friends crawled down my arm, but it was there. With a satisfied nod I ordered my friends back into my body, and just as I suspected the faint feeling was gone as soon as they were back in.

"When they are all inside me I do not feel a thing." I tell my mother as I look back at her, she was trained on every word, as if she had been longing for this answer for a very long time, "It's as if they become a part of me as soon as they enter, but when they leave I feel…empty, like I was missing something that can't be filled until they are all safely back inside me."

My mother regarded me with a soft smile, all traces of embarrassment gone, "You know, my little konchuu, you will never cease to amaze me."

Before I could quiz her on her strange choice of words she quickly walked up to me and wrapped me in a hug. I felt my whole body stiffen as she did this, defiantly not used to this contact. My mother gratefully broke away from the quick hug, understanding of my solitary nature, yet she still held on to my shoulders her smiling face mere feet from my own. We stood like this for several moments before my mother released me, standing back up to her full height.

"Now go on Shino, the sun is up so your father shouldn't be too far behind, get that hair sorted out!"

I turned to the nearby window to see that the sun had indeed found its way into our nursery; with a simple nod to my mother I turned and made my way out of the indoor forest in search of my father.

XXXXX

_Aburame Amarante –_

I watched Shino as he walked out the doors, hands in his jacket pockets and face buried in his collar. Even at eight he looked a lot like his father. I let myself sigh as I thought this, thinking back to how my son had described the feelings of his bugs to me.

"_When they are all inside I do not feel a thing, but when they leave I feel…empty, like I was missing something that can not be filled until they are all safely back inside me."_

"Oh little konchuu." I whispered, slowly pulling out a picture of a baby from my apron pocket.

I swore Shino's father he could never show or tell him about it, the baby was completely naked, the only article of clothing he wore was a pair of circular sunglasses, it had been the first day he received them.

"For what its worth." I continued in my hushed tone, placing a soft kiss on the picture, "You are already beginning to sound like a parent."

XXXXX

_Aburame Shino –_

The same walk across the streets, the same cooling breeze and singing insects and the same twisting feeling in my stomach, thankfully less uncomfortable this time around. Yet even despite everything being almost exactly the same as yesterday I couldn't help but believe that this day would be a better one. With this thought I could feel the squirming begin to die down a bit, but as soon as I saw the gate that lead to the Academy grounds my hand instantly shot up to the gray head band that was pulled around my forehead, keeping my bushy hair in place.

'_I hope no one thinks this looks stupid…' _I thought, attempting to smooth out the accessory, but as soon as I thought it I found myself shaking the silly notion away.

'_Who cares what they think?' _I challenged myself, dropping the hand back into my pockets, _'I mean really, self-conscious Shino, as if!'_

"Heeeeeeey, Shiiiiiiiiinoooooooo!" A familiar voice sung out, causing me to jump and have my hand shoot back up to my headband at exactly the same time.

I quickly spun around to see blonde-haired Uzumaki Naruto running towards me and being followed by the…the….

_The Hokage!?_

"Hiya, Shino, what's up? Naruto asked brightly, stopping in his tracks, the same big grin on his face that I remembered for yesterday.

"Not much…" Was my only reply, my shaded eyes focused entirely on the man in red robes that was steadily approaching Naruto and me.

Naruto followed my gaze until he saw the slowly advancing man himself, "Hurry up, old man, this is the guy!"

I stared at Naruto incredulously; surely he didn't just call the Hokage, ruler and top ninja of all of Konoha, an _old man?_ The Hokage, however, seemed unfazed, in fact he actually laughed at Naruto.

"I'm coming I'm coming." He said, now reaching us, "I'm not as young as I used to be you know."

"Not like _that's _hard to believe." Naruto muttered sarcastically.

I gave my new friend a stern look before looking back at the Hokage, who had his full attention on me. I felt my head slowly shrink into my collar as his hard eyes and frown studied me intently.

"So _this _is the fabled Aburame Shino?" He asked Naruto without taking his gaze off of me.

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, "He's the guy who did the cool tricks with the bugs, go on Shino, show him!"

"I don't think that will be necessary." The Hokage answered, holding up a silencing hand to Naruto, his stern gaze never leaving my face, "So you're the one who greeted Naruto with the original Aburame welcoming?"

"Yes, but I-." My explanation was halted however when the Hokage's face suddenly split into a wide grin, before patting me firmly on the shoulder.

"Well I am pleased, young Shino." He said, removing his hand, "It's good to see Naruto has managed to make a friend so quickly, and a sharp one at that!"

"Thank you, Hokage." I replied, bowing deeply, both in respect and to hide the warm blush that appeared on my face.

"Well I must be off." The Hokage said, "A Hokage's work is never done!" And with that he vanished into a puff of smoke.

"What!?" Naruto cried out after the disappearing clone, "You said you'd meet him in person, you dirty old liar!"

"Naruto, it's alright." I insisted, wary in case the Hokage came back to punish us for Naruto's insolence,

"We should get to the Academy; it's almost time for our training."

"Right, right." Naruto grumbled, but he then regarded me with a sly grin.

"What?" I asked immediately, nervous that I had said or done something wrong.

My troubles were instantly dashed when Naruto extended his hand and tugged on the gray cloth that was tied around my forehead.

"Nice head-band!" He exclaimed.

XXXXX

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka called out, causing the poor dozing boy to jump in his seat. I looked over at him sympathetically as many others in the class giggled.

"Y-yes sensei? Naruto stammered, trying desperately to rub the sleep from his eyes.

Iruka smiled, knowing he had caught the perfect prey, "What are the three basic fundamentals of being a ninja?"

"The three funda-who?" My friend asked back, I didn't know whether he was still half-asleep or simply couldn't figure out the answer, I was about to save him from his predator when another hand near the front of the classroom rose into the air instead.

"The floor goes to Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka announced, pointing to the raised hand.

"The three fundamentals of being a ninja are stealth, deception, and wit." He then looked back at Naruto and I, his smirk and eyes triumphant, "Three of which Naruto apparently fails to have."

This caused the class to erupt in hoots of laughter from the boys of the classroom; the girls seemed far too busy staring at the dark haired boy to even notice his joke. It took several minutes for Iruka to calm down the class, all the while Sasuke and Naruto were glaring daggers at each other, I felt it my place to try and soothe my friend but the look of utmost hate that shone in his eyes held me back.

"Very good Sasuke, but no more snide comments to the other students." Iruka ordered sternly, after he had finally calmed down the class.

"Of course Iruka-sensei." Sasuke replied innocently, turning back around in his seat, but not before giving Naruto one last sneer.

My poor friend was almost at his boiling point, his small hands were clenched and his teeth were gritting together. I finally decided to try and calm him down, and opening my mouth I proceeded in giving him a few words but was justly cut off when Naruto suddenly stood up in his seat.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto declared interrupting our teacher in mid-sentence and causing everyone in the entire classroom to look at him. I felt myself shrink into my jacket in embarrassment for him, but when I looked up to his face all I could see was determined fury. "I can't believe you just let that wanna be shinobi talk down to me without a good whack on his over-inflated head!"

"What did you say you looser!?" Sasuke shot, jumping up from his seat and locking eyes with Naruto.

"Stupid Naruto, leave Sasuke alone!" One pale eyed blonde girl called out, followed by a chorus of agreement from the girls around her.

"Now now Ino, I'll handle this." Iruka said, walking up so he was in between the two boys. "Now what seems to be the problem here?"

"You know very well what the problem is!" Naruto declared, pointing an accusing finger at the Uchiha, "That low life jerk just talked down to me!"

"So _I'm _the low life jerk eh?" Sasuke challenged.

"_Boys!" _Iruka shouted, silencing the two immediately.

I looked on helplessly at Naruto, his yelling had stopped but I could see he was breathing heavily and his eyes still trained on Sasuke with an anger I had never seen before. Iruka seemed to notice it to.

"Well this may be only the second day, but as ninja tradition goes the only way to settle a qualm like this is through sparing, it'll be good to mix in both mental and physical practice this early on anyway."

"Sparring?" Naruto quirked, looking up at Iruka quizzically.

"You know…hand-to-hand combat." Sasuke answered, then shook his head sadly, "Man you really _are_ a hopeless looser."

"Shut-up!" Naruto shot back, "I knew what it meant!"

"Come on now you two." Iruka called over their shouts, "Enough petty talk, follow me to the sparring mats."

He then grabbed them both by either shoulder and led them out of the classroom, Sasuke and Naruto kept their arms folded and their faces turned deliberately away from one another. The rest of the class soon followed and I was pulled into the throng. Through the crowd I watched as Naruto was lead to the inevitable fight with Sasuke.

I knew about the Uchiha's and their deadly Sharingan, I didn't know whether this particular boy had it or not but I could only hope that he didn't.

And if he did…

_Well it was nice knowing you for a day, _I thought miserably as I was pulled with the crowd down the hall and into the training room.

XXXXX

The roar of the kids was deafening. I found it a real test of my endurance just to keep from pulling my hands out of my pockets and covering my ears. Through it all I could faintly make out Sasuke's name being chanted and by the looks that all the kids were giving Naruto it was clear who all this noise was being made for.

"You ready to get creamed pretty boy!?" Naruto challenged from his side of the mat, Sasuke regarded him with folded arms and a hard stare, unfazed by his comment.

"Not as ready as the Med-Nins are to take the remains of your body after I'm through with you." Sasuke retorted, followed by cheers from the kids around me and Naruto's face to go as red as a tomato.

"Alright boys, enough talk." Iruka ordered, standing outside the mat, "Now are you both ready?"

"I was born ready!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I'm ready." Sasuke replied, letting his arms fall to his sides.

"Okay then." Iruka then lifted his arm, "On my word then, ready…."

"GO!" Naruto cried out, suddenly charging at his opponent, Sasuke remained still, "Now it's time you got what's coming to ya!"

Sasuke did not move until Naruto let his fist fly, then in a blur of motion Sasuke brushed Naruto's attack aside and sent his own fist into Naruto's face. The blonde-boy was flown back across the mat and hit the ground hard; Sasuke remained standing at his original spot.

"Naruto…" I whispered watching as my friend got back up on shaking knees; his right cheek now sported a large bruise.

"You ready to give up yet, loser?" Sasuke asked jeeringly.

Naruto quickly rubbed his eyes, if I hadn't known better I would of thought he was about to cry…Yet when Naruto's hands were removed I could see the familiar look of confidence shinning in his bright blue orbs.

"Are you kidding? I've just gotten started!"

XXXXX

_10 minutes later…_

XXXXX

"Man that runt can sure take a beating." A kid with spiky brown hair and triangle symbols on his cheeks remarked.

"He's making us wait here for way too long." Another boy with black hair that was pulled into a ponytail commented, "Man he's troublesome."

The chubby boy that stood near the two didn't say anything, his mouth too full of chips that he chowed down ferociously, his beady eyes intent on the sparring match. I felt my hands clench in my pockets as I listened to the three, or had they been clenched for awhile? My fingers defiantly hurt as if they had.

I looked back at the mat to see that Naruto was on the ground again, though I wouldn't be surprised to see him manage to get back up. He had been doing this for as long as I could remember, charging at Sasuke, getting beat down, but managing to get himself back up. He may of never touched the boy, but Sasuke was no longer in his proud confident stance, his fists were clenched, his breathing more forced, and his eyes staring intently at Naruto, daring the boy the get back up.

Naruto dared.

"Is that all you got!?" The stubborn boy cried out, slowly rising from the ground, he was now nursing a possible fractured arm and his face was a series of bruises and welts.

I felt my stomach twist as Naruto kept his feet, this was too much. I knew he had to stop, this was going no where, and the winner should have been decided before the match had even begun. Naruto was my friend but facts were facts, none of us stood a chance against an Uchiha.

I looked over to Iruka, pleading with unseen eyes for him to end the match, as I had been doing for the past few minutes, but still the teacher had no eyes for me. Strangely his gaze had been trained solely on Naruto since the match began, never wavering once.

"Come on Sasuke show me what you got!" Naruto continued, and just by looking at him I knew he had no more energy to run at him again, "Or is standing around looking pretty all your clan good for!?"

And as soon as I saw Sasuke's face I knew that was it, his breaking point.

"You arrogant little twerp!" Sasuke cried, his eyes ablaze, "You're going to pay for that!"

"Come on then." Naruto hissed, motioning Sasuke over with a hand, "Show me what you got, looser!"

Without another word Sasuke suddenly hit a level of calm, standing rigid in place the dark haired boy's breathing suddenly became regular and his eyes slowly began to close.

"You asked for this." He called in a strange monotone voice, his eyes now completely closed.

I watched in silent horror, desperately praying inside my head that what Sasuke was planning wasn't what I was thinking of.

"This is a special unique jutsu passed down from my clan." Sasuke continued in his emotionless drawl, "You should feel honored to be beaten by it."

"Yeah, yeah I'll believe it when I see-." But my poor friend was cut off when Sasuke's eyes suddenly flashed open, revealing the red coloring and black markings that made up the…

_Sharingan!_

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Clouds of Shame

AUTHOR'S NOTE: PLEASE READ If anyone happens to see a flaw of any kind in my Naruto history I encourage you to correct me thusly so I can do the changes and make this fanfic as true to Masashi Kishimoto's ideals as possible

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: PLEASE READ If anyone happens to see a flaw of any kind in my **_**Naruto **_**history I encourage you to correct me thusly so I can do the changes and make this fanfic as true to Masashi Kishimoto's ideals as possible. So on that note I'd like to thank Typhlosion009 for the review and any future ones! **

**Please continue to read and enjoy! **

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 3: Clouds of Shame**_

XXXXX

_Uchiha Sasuke_

I could feel it! The power! All the sweet luscious power coursing through my veins, through my chakra! Through these eyes I could see my opponent, that looser Naruto, moving as if in slow motion.

'_This is it!' _I thought triumphantly, giving that stupid kid's astonished face a victorious smile, one that only a shinobi of the Uchiha clan can produce, _'Now I can use my Sharingan to-_ ."

Suddenly then I felt a snap in my head like rubber being pulled apart. Instant pain shot through my brain as red quickly filled my vision, I couldn't help but scream. Yet even as I did my new eyes didn't leave Naruto, I kept them trained solely on him, knowing that beneath the horror stricken act he was laughing at me, at an Uchiha!

"Sasuke! Are you all right?" Master Iruka asked, I felt a hand on my shoulder a moment later.

"Back off!" I cried out, pushing the hand away and actually shoving him back a few feet.

The Sharingan…I still had it, but now I could feel the power from it quickly draining from my body, as if some kind of plug was pulled. I had to act fast. The pain was almost too much.

I quickly turned back on Naruto, making sure he had full view of my hate filled eyes. The whelp actually dared to take a step back; he actually dared to cry!

"No use running weakling!" I roared, now was the time!

I leaped into the air, faster then any of my fellow students could follow, faster than even I had foreseen. My hands were held out before me, the looser had frozen, there was no hope for him, all I had to do was reach him and then I'd be able to teach him not to mess with a shinobi of the Uchiha cl- !

Then everything went black, my Sharingan vanished, and the deafening noise of the buzzing of insects over-whelmed my senses…

XXXXX

_Aburame Shino _

Everyone was staring, from me to Sasuke, Sasuke to me. The poor Uchiha boy was rolling on the mat, bugs assaulting his face as he desperately tried to claw at them. It reminded me sickenly of Naruto. At the thought of my friend I looked over to attempt at a quick silent apology for stopping his fight but he had vanished, not even a trace that he had been there, beaten and bruised, just a few seconds ago.

"Aburame Shino!" Iruka cried out, pulling me out of my thoughts of my friend and back to the big dilemma at hand, the sensei was kneeling next to Sasuke, trying to assist the boy in getting rid of the destruction beetles, "Call off your bugs Shino, _now!"_

I quickly lifted my arms again, not knowing why they had raised the first time. With a quick mental order my friends flew from their attack on Sasuke's face and headed back towards me, the other children eager to clear a path away from them.

But why? Why are my friends disobeying me and flying out without permission? Why why why?

My inward questions were quickly dashed, however, as I finally took a good look around the room. Everyone was now staring at me, and they defiantly weren't doing it kindly. I felt my face instantly heat up and my stomach twist and turn. All those eyes, those hateful eyes, staring at….me.

I wanted to vanish, to shrink to the size of one of my friends and fly away. I wished they would turn away and forget that I was even there. That's how I wanted to grow up, existing but never affecting, I didn't want too much attention, especially not _this _kind.

"Why'd you do it, huh?" The triangle-marked boy asked, the fury in his voice caused me to wince. "You think your some big tough mutt attacking someone with their back turned?"

"N-no, I was only-." I didn't get any farther, for my hidden eyes had just fallen onto the Uchiha, who had his eyes trained on me as did everyone else.

But his eyes, in my opinion, were more deadly and spiteful looking than all the other children combined. He no longer had the strange red coloring to them but the pure malice they contained as he glared only at me nearly caused me to shake myself to pieces.

"You…" He growled, pointing at me, "Are dead."

And then I was gone, running, away from the kids, away from Sasuke, away from all the attention, away from all the hatred. I thought I heard Iruka calling after me and I almost stopped until another voice called out, clearly louder than his.

"That's right, go fly back to your cocoon, you freaky bug boy!" The blonde haired girl from before shouted, the one called Ino.

The tears came too fast for me to control, everything had happened was too fast to control. I silently thanked whatever god's were out there that the shades and coat didn't give anything away. But I didn't risk it. Without another thought I ran out of the sparring room, the laughter from the children constantly at my heels.

XXXXX

I dug my hands deeper into my pockets as the evening autumn chill pelted my body. All around me the leaves and grasses danced in the light breeze but I could not partake in their joy. Dark thoughts of the children and Sasuke bombarded my head, throwing me into a state of depression I had never experienced before.

Their hate…I almost couldn't believe that so much ill feeling was held towards me. The thought of it made my heart pound and my throat close up. As I walked through Konoha's grasses I couldn't help but let out my frustration on my friends. After all, if they had just kept good and stayed in my body none of this would ever have happened. Right now I could be home, getting ready for bed with the sinking sun.

I look over at it now, the brilliant orange glow giving everything around me an overall warming darkness. I shut my eyes as I let it wash over me, as if the sudden warmness would heal all the bad thoughts in my head. I knew my parents wouldn't worry, especially after I sent some of my _friends_ to give my mother a message stating I was to be late. But seeing as I was getting nowhere I figured I would make my way home now and simply wish everything will turn out better in the morn-.

"Hey there." A voice said from behind me, interrupting my thoughts and causing me to jump in surprise.

I quickly turned around to see the boy with the pony-tail I saw at the sparring room leaning against a nearby tree and giving me an amused smirk.

"Huh, I startled you?" He mused, looking me over, "From the looks of you I would have guessed you to be more of the sturdy type."

"It hasn't been an easy day." I muttered back, studying him cautiously, seeing if that triggered his memory and remind him of what I did, I waited to see him give me the same hate-filled stare as everyone else had.

"Then you're obviously trying too hard at something." The boy replied, his face never changing besides loosing the smirk and taking on a far-off look to his eyes, "You seem way too tense."

I stiffened at that, "You were there." I stated, trying to get it into the strange boy's head that he knew why I was how I was.

"You mean when you ambushed that Uchiha, Sasuke?" He asked, I nodded once, "I have to admit, that was really low and troublesome, especially when the class started to heat up."

I felt my insides begin to twist again, but then the boy gave me another one of his smirks, "But just between you and me I think the Uchiha clan is even _more _low and troublesome…and it was pretty funny to see Sasuke do a face plant on the mat."

I could only stare at the boy. Unable to use coherent words. Here this boy was, blatantly speaking out against the Uchiha clan, the most powerful and honorable clan in Konoha, as if they were some annoying thread that needed to be plucked. But…

He did not look at me as the others did, his eyes held no hatred as he looked on, though I did notice some thing hidden behind the curious blankness in his stare, something more…

"Do you want to take a walk with me?" The boy suddenly asked, throwing me off of my inspection of him. "There's somewhere I like to visit at the end of each day and we can watch the clouds as we go there, before they all disappear."

"Clouds?" I repeated, this kid sure was a strange one.

"Yeah, so are you in?" The boy asked and I only had to think about it before I gave him my answer.

"Yes."

It would beat being alone and mopping to myself I concluded as I followed the strange cloud-obsessed boy.

XXXXX

"Aren't you envious of them?" He asked me as we walked, both our heads held up to the sky.

"The clouds?" I asked, staring up at the sky made it particularly hard to see where I was going, but the boy seemed sure of his path so I did not deter from mine.

"Yeah, all they need to do is hang there, away from all the troubles and stresses of the world, never having to be expected for anything more, never having to worry about anything at all."

I stole a quick glance at the boy and was about to tell him how ridiculous such an idea was when my own troublesome memories flashed back into my head. Memories of my fellow classmates, of Uchiha Sasuke, all staring, all hating. My gaze slowly went back up to the orange solitary clouds; no one hated them they were free to just hang there without hatred.

"I am envious of them." I muttered with realization, but also with the same sureness my voice always held. I noticed the boy look over at me as I said it, a cheerful smirk planted on his face.

"Glad to finally meet someone who understands." He said before suddenly extending his hand to me while we were still walking and staring at the sky. "Hi, my name is Nara Shikamaru."

I almost grinned at the notion, but managed to contain myself, he had cheerfulness but he was certainly no Naruto. However I did grasp his hand without stopping my pace or looking down from the sky, "I'm Aburame Shino, it's…interesting to meet you Shikamaru."

He laughed at that, "Likewise, Shino."

XXXXX

We walked the rest of the way in silence, simply enjoying the atmosphere and the beautiful colors of the clouds which, thanks to Shikamaru, I could do now. I was considering thanking him when he suddenly stopped, his head falling from the sky and staring at something in front of us.

"Well we reached our spot…" He said curiously, "But it seems someone has beaten us here."

I quickly brought my head down to earth as well, and when I saw what he was staring at I instantly felt my breathing catch in my throat. We were at a shrine; well more of a tombstone, but it was the fact that it was the grave of the one and only Fourth Hokage that made it a shrine. Yet it wasn't the slab of stone that had invoked fear into my head, instead it was the small blonde boy that was leaned up against it, his bruises still clearly visible in the growing darkness.

"Naruto!" I exclaimed, quickly rushing over to my friend, Shikamaru not far behind me.

"Naruto?" I repeated as I reached him, kneeling down so I could see his face better. His eyes were closed and his countenance was strangely calm, for a second I thought he had died.

"He's out like a light." Shikamaru noted as he knelt by Naruto's opposite side, he then gently placed his ear against my friend's chest, "But breathing and heart rate are normal so we just need to take him indoors."

I quickly shook my head to clear the delirium that it was producing. I had to think rationally like Shikamaru, I could have deduced that my friend was fine just as quickly as he had without my dumb worries coming up with the idea of Naruto being _dead._

"You wouldn't happen to know where his family lives do you?" Shikamaru asked me, snapping me from my thoughts, and pushing away the un-helpful worries I quickly thought of earlier today, in the morning, when Naruto had introduced me to only the single most important person to the entire village.

"No, but I know he's really close to the Hokage." I answered; inwardly happy I was being useful. Shikamaru gave me an incredulous look before looking back at the dozing boy.

"Really…" He mused; he then grabbed Naruto by the arm and then proceeded to wrap it around his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" I quickly asked worried that it might cause him more pain.

"Well we have to take him to the Hokage some how, right?" Shikamaru asked, rising from the ground with Naruto balanced against his body.

"Right." I muttered back, trying once again to banish the stupid worries from my head as I took Naruto's opposite arm, "Let's go."

Yet even as we walked and I told myself worrying for my friend would only cloud my brain from the obvious facts that I was so used to conducting I couldn't help but inwardly wonder which one of Naruto's arms had looked fractured from before and, despite knowing that it would increase the weight on Shikamaru, I silently loosened my grip on Naruto's arm.

XXXXX

It had taken much longer than I deemed necessary to get into the giant building in the center of the village that held the Hokage. The guards at the front gate refused to believe that Naruto was close friends with the Hokage or that we did not know where else to take him. I also couldn't help but notice a familiar wisp of hatred in their eyes as the looked on at the boy in between Shikamaru and I.

"Look, kids." One of the guards finally said, "Even if this…_boy _did know the Hokage we can't let you in to see him, he is a busy man after all and won't have time to deal with…a matter such as this."

I could easily tell this man was struggling to say certain things that were clearly on his mind as he looked down on us, Naruto in particular, but I was reluctant to ask him what they were. Not that it mattered, Shikamaru and I had been arguing with the man for well over ten minutes and it clearly wasn't getting us anywhere. Plus Shikamaru had made it clear to me before we got there that he had to leave soon, something about his mom becoming the most troublesome woman in the planet if he was home too late, and I knew I had to be getting home soon as well…

"Excuse me, gentleman." A man spoke up, standing next to Shikamaru as if he had been there this whole time, "But would you mind if I took the boy to Sarutobi? I just came back from him and he didn't seem all that busy to me."

The man spoke in a calm and collected voice but as soon as the guards saw him they had straightened up immediately and as he talked they looked so frightened I could have laughed. Their cowardness amused me even further when I saw that the man was an ANBU. There was nothing overly significant about him either, same animal mask, same dark claded body armor, the only thing that made him different from other ANBU shinobi was the long silverness that made up his hair…

"Of course, sir." The guard that had just spoken to us said, bowing deeply to the man.

"Thank-you." The ANBU ninja replied cheerfully, he then turned to us, I could feel Shikamaru stiffen. He kneeled down before us and held out his arms, "If you please."

Carefully Shikamaru and I relinquished Naruto, placing him gently into the shinobi's arms. The man then stood back up, my friend cradled gently in his arms. He looked at me and although he could not see my face, and I could not see his I suddenly felt a level of understanding flow in between us.

"Do not worry; I will make sure he is delivered safely." He said to me, and even though I had never met him before I knew I could trust him.

"Please do." I nodded; he returned the nod and was gone, vanishing before I even had time to blink.

As soon as he was gone I saw the guards relax, both breathing out quiet sighs of relief. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shikamaru's shoulders slump as well.

"Who was that?" I asked him once we started to walk away from the giant building, "He didn't seem like a normal ANBU shinobi."

"That was Hatake Kakashi." Shikamaru said after a moment's pause, his gaze never leaving the path in front of us, "And he is defiantly not a normal ANBU, more like the best one this village has got."

I remained quiet, waiting for Shikamaru to continue, but he didn't. We both stopped on a path that split off in two directions, I knew the Nara clan was to the left as he knew the Aburame clan veered right.

"I'll see you tomorrow right?" He asked me, "There's this game that I play a lot and I was kind of hoping you'd play me sometime."

Shikamaru's face still held its uncaring demeanor, but I couldn't help but notice an air of desperation in his voice. Maybe he had a lack of friends too…

"I'd like that." I said honestly, extending my hand, "Until tomorrow."

"Until tomorrow." He agreed, smiling as he grasped my hand.

XXXXX

"How was your day, sweetie?" My mother asked me as soon as I stepped into the kitchen; I quickly averted her eyes, knowing that whenever she called me "sweetie" meant that trouble was soon to follow.

I was reluctant to tell her about Naruto, as far as she knew I didn't have any friends and I wanted to keep it that way. Unlike my father she would want to know more about it and probably even go as far as get involved and make me ask him to come over.

I quickly tried to think of an alternative excuse, it didn't take me long. After Shikamaru and I parted ways and my worries of Naruto had lessened I had all the time in the world to be once again pelted with the memories of embarrassment from all the kids' hatred and the uncontrollable fear of an Uchiha's death promise. With a deep sigh I willed myself to look back into my mother's angry face.

"I think I made an enemy."

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Long Night

Nothing really to say this chapter, just read, enjoy, review, ect

**Have to admit, had major author's block with this chapter for a few days, hope what I ended up with is to yall's liking.**

**Read and Enjoy! **

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 4: Long Night**_

XXXXXX

_The luxury of knowing it was a dream was absent from my mind. It was dark, like all the dreams I had before it, but I still believed it to be real. The eyes seemed real enough. The glowing orbs pierced through my comfortable darkness and trained on me, eyes of all different shapes and sizes, all staring, all glaring. _

_The hatred…._

_It was everywhere…_

_I wanted to cry out to the eyes, to yell at them to stop staring. I wanted them to ignore me; I wanted to be left alone in the dark like I always had been. But it was far too late to have such fantasies, I had done wrong and now I was to pay the price._

"_You…are dead." A voice hissed into my ear, its vile tone making me want to scream but my throat was unable to open._

_All the eyes suddenly began to close, the glowing from their orbs slowly sinking away and leaving me back in my quiet darkness. I felt the relief wash over me, finally I was alone again…_

_The relief was short lived._

_The eyes opened, shining brighter than ever, but now they were different. Their hatred and anger still reflected like a mirror onto me but now they were all the same shape, the same color, the same Uchiha eyes. _

_Sharingan all around me, the red and black all focused solely on me, now I could scream. I cried my heart and mind out; I didn't stop screaming even as I felt my throat bleed and my heart stop beating. The eyes only watched, staring murderously as I screamed myself to death. _

_As I let myself fade to permanent blackness I felt Sasuke's voice in my ear again, only instead of hatred twisting his words it was triumph. _

"_You…are dead." He repeated._

XXXXXX

My eyes slowly opened, my focus was blurry and my head felt sore and hot. A soft hand pressed against my cheek. I found I was too worn out to even be scared by the notion.

"Shino?" I heard a gentle whisper, through my blurriness I could see a figure leaning over me.

"Mother…" I croaked, the extreme soreness that cut through my throat afterwards caused me to wince. "What…what happened?"

"Shush." My mother scolded, whipping my eyes, easily clearing the blurriness that had plagued them. When I saw the wetness on her fingers I instantly knew what had been in my eyes.

Tears…I had been…_crying?_

"You were having a bad dream," She explained, a weak smile on her face, "A _really _bad one by the sound of it."

"A dream?" I rasped, trying my best to think back to it, but nothing came to mind, "I don't remember it."

"That is probably for the best," My mother chuckled softly, she then stroked my cheek, "You gave me a pretty bad scare you know, my little konchuu."

I looked at her more closely upon hearing that. Her usual perfectly straight hair was now a big dark mess, her soft brown eyes had dark linings underneath them and I couldn't help but notice a similar wetness still visible upon them…

"Sorry…" I whispered. My mother smiled a little wider and was about to speak when…

"Amarante," A voice spoke up, "Let the boy be, he needs his rest."

I looked to the doorway to see my father, standing solitary and motionless inside it. My mother looked over to him as well for the briefest of moments before returning to me.

"Sleep well, Shino," She said, there seemed to be a slight edge to her voice as she said it, but the thought was quickly dashed when my mother suddenly leaned closer to me and placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Mom, please!" I wheezed, involuntarily placing a hand on my forehead, I could feel my face begin to heat up.

"Special occasion." My mother laughed.

XXXXXX

The walk to school was sadly more troublesome than just a squirmy stomach or disobeying destruction beetles. My disgrace during the sparring match seemed to have spread through the entire ranks of the Uchiha clan over night. Each one who held the clan's symbol shot me a particularly dirty look as I passed; I did my best to ignore it all.

"Man, I forget how fast word travels through this village sometimes," Shikamaru spoke from beside me, our paths intersected near the beginning of the road leading to the Academy and I had to admit I enjoyed not being forced to walk alone, especially with all the hate suddenly in my life.

"It's troublesome." I replied, earning a smirk from my new friend.

"Rubbing off on you already, eh?" He joked, nudging me with his free arm; the other held a _shogi_ board. "Don't let it get to you too bad though, they are just steamed that one of theirs was taken off guard so easily."

"Right…" I said, not completely as convinced as he was. Shikamaru clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"Look, the worst thing that can happen is that Uchiha kid getting angry enough to challenge you to spar him, and when that happens all you need to do is have your bugs blind him again while you take him out," He then gave me a very serious look, "I was watching Sasuke real close, he may be able to wield a Sharingan but not for very long, and it causes a lot of strain to his mind and body, he forced it out when he fought Naruto."

The sound of my friend's name momentarily made me forget about all my problems. I hadn't heard any word from him since last night but I knew from his injuries that he would be out for at least a few weeks. I felt utterly sorry for him, only three days into the Academy and already he was going to be out of commission for such a long time…

"Heeeeeey Shiiiiiinoooooo!" A voice called out, Shikamaru and I quickly noticed the small boy running towards us from far ahead.

"No way…" Shikamaru breathed as he got closer, I felt my body stiffen as well. It was like seeing a ghost.

"Hey guys, why do ya'll look so freaked out?" Naruto quirked when he reached us. Naruto, with perfect un-cut, un-bruised skin, who was moving his arms in ways that would only be natural if they were perfectly fine and un-fractured.

I was un-able to voice my thoughts so Shikamaru spoke them for me, "Your body…you're supposed to be completely pulverized after what Sasuke did to you…"

"Hah!" Naruto exclaimed upon hearing the Uchiha's name, "Like that jerk could ever do anything harmful to me, and besides, I'm a quick healer!"

"Uh-huh…" Shikamaru muttered, not at all convinced. I wasn't either. I was right beside him, I _saw_ the extent of the damage Sasuke had done to him, and no one could have healed completely overnight…no one.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I implored despite the fact that he was grinning his same big grin and that his body perfectly fine…stupid worries.

"Never felt better Shino!" Naruto insisted, he then looked at Shikamaru as if he just noticed he was there, despite the fact he had answered his question. "Oh hey, I never met you before, my name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"I'm Nara Shikamaru," he responded with a nod, "I'm a friend of Shino's."

"Sweet, me too!" Naruto exclaimed, "Did he show you that bug trick he can do yet?"

"Well I've seen _a _bug trick," Shikamaru clarified, giving me a curious look, "You have more?"

"Yeah! He can do this awesome thing where the bugs write his name in the air!" Naruto exclaimed, his blue eyes bright as he no doubt recalled our first meeting, "He showed it to me when we first met."

"Did he?" Shikamaru mused, giving me a pretend offended look, "I'm hurt Shino, all I got was a handshake!"

He laughed at that and Naruto soon joined him, as they laughed I heard a third voice join them, a third laugh, it took me awhile but I was soon stunned to find out that it was my own voice that was laughing. Shikamaru and Naruto noticed as well and gave me their own wide eyes as I quickly shut my mouth.

"Wow Shikamaru…you got him to laugh," Naruto observed, "All I've managed was a smile so far."

"You just got to know the right thing to say," Shikamaru explained, "Take it from me, if you knew who my mom was you would understand how I was able to make an unemotional person like Shino laugh, I can make _that _woman laugh on good days."

"No kidding?" Naruto said with a grin.

"We should get to the Academy." I cut in walking ahead of them, tired of them talking about me as if I wasn't there and eager to get back to normality before I let something else slip.

"Right behind you little laughing bug!" Shikamaru called, followed by Naruto's laughter. I sighed deeply.

_Of all the people who could have been my friends…_

XXXXXX

The three of us walked on to the Academy together, and I was relieved to find out that Naruto and Shikamaru got a long well. It meant that I could talk less and in turn have less chance of slipping up.

"Hey Naruto, you ever play a game called _shogi _before?" Shikamaru asked him, while slightly raising the board in his arm, "I was planning on playing with Shino during recess, you can play too if you want."

"_Shogi_?" Naruto repeated, his face lined with confusion, "Never heard of it, how you play?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Well this is going to be troublesome, but I guess I'll explain the rules, pay attention though I'll only explain once."

Naruto nodded and looked prepared to train on every word out of Shikamaru's mouth. I couldn't help but pity my poor friend. My father was a secret fanatic of the game so obviously he occasionally challenged me to a match; the rules were a bit long and confusing and I had never once beaten him. I couldn't imagine this to be anything less than a headache for Naruto.

By the time we had reached the Academy Shikamaru had finished his explanation and my assumption had proven to be right. Naruto's face was lined with far more confusion than it had been when he didn't even know what the game was.

"So how about it, you going to play with us?" Shikamaru asked as soon as he finished.

Naruto didn't reply for a few seconds. His face twisted in perplextion as all the rules flipped through his head like an over-done pancake. I knew from experience.

"I…think I'll watch you guys play," Naruto finally replied quietly, but then with a smile, "Don't wanna make ya'll feel bad or anything after beating both of you back to your mothers!"

"Right, right," Shikamaru retorted, waving away Naruto's confidence and yawning loudly.

Naruto looked slightly put off at Shikamaru's uncaring and was about to retort when his gaze suddenly fixated on the entrance into the academy. His face instantly hardened five times over, his eyes leered menacingly.

"Sasuke," He hissed. I felt my blood run cold as soon as he spoke the name.

Uncontrollably and unwillingly I looked to where my friend was glaring to see a boy with exactly the same stare, only it was directed at me. Uchiha Sasuke's eyes was exactly the same as yesterday, so much so I felt my breathing catch the same way it did before, the same fear he invoked filled my brain.

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto suddenly yelled out, "I'm still up for taking you out whenever you are!"

Sasuke looked genuinely surprised when he noticed Naruto, but it didn't last. He simply shook his head incredulously before giving me one last hate filled glare and walked through the Academy gates. I felt my breathing release as soon as he was out of sight, my eyes closed in relief.

But it was short lived.

"That guy there," Shikamaru whispered in my ear, "That isn't Sasuke's brother Itachi is it?"

"Itachi?" I repeated, re-examining the spot where Sasuke once stood to find none other than Uchiha Itachi standing merely a few feet from where his little brother had glared at me, I was so consumed by Sasuke's hatred I must have blocked out everything else, this moment in particular showed me how dangerous that could be. I quickly averted my eyes from him, other than Sasuke, Itachi's hatred I feared the most out of the entire Uchiha clan.

"He's walking towards us," Shikamaru continued to whisper in my ear, "He doesn't look mad like the others though…"

"I bet he's coming to tell me that Sasuke is too afraid to fight!" Naruto declared from my other side.

I reluctantly looked up to see that Itachi was indeed heading our way, and also that his face did hold no sign of the anger his fellow clan members bore for me. The fear still didn't entirely seep from my body however. I knew the stories behind the Uchiha clans best shinobi, to be the most elite of an already elite clan pride and fear were a given. Especially if said ninja had Itachi's personality.

"You are Aburame Shino, are you not?" Itachi asked as soon as he halted in front of us, and even though he said it almost kindly I had to fight the urge to take a step back.

"Y-yes." I stuttered for the first time since I could remember, Itachi smiled at that, as if he could read my mind.

"I am Uchiha Itachi," He introduced, _bowing _his head to me, "Ever since my little brother's ranting last night I have been very eager to meet you."

"Hey, hey Itachi!" Narutospoke up before I could think, let alone speak in reply to what Itachi had just told me, "Did Sasuke say anything about me!?"

"Are you Uzumaki Naruto?" He asked my friend, noticing him for the first time.

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, his face bright and eager.

"He said, "If it wasn't for Shino's bugs I would have been able to punch that loser's face in and teach him a well deserved lesson!" ," Itachi replied coolly, looking away from Naruto's angered/shocked face and focusing back on me.

"But he spoke of you mostly, Shino," Itachi continued, and even though he couldn't see my eyes we both knew he had my full attention, "And while most of what he said involved death threats and taking revenge I couldn't help but see and hear the _fear_, my little brother has gotten the entire clan on edge because of you, even as we speak my clan is now studying the Aburame clan and their abilities trying to find both strengths and weaknesses."

I listened to Itachi with my normal unwavering, hidden face, but inside I could feel the same familiar feelings of nervousness, only now they were much worse than anything I had felt yet. I could feel the sweat build up beneath my headband; my hands were shaking uncontrollably in my pockets. I knew the whole clan was upset because of me but I didn't know to what extent and Sasuke…Sasuke was _afraid_ of me?

"So is that why you're here?" Shikamaru spoke up, interrupting my panicking thoughts, "Are you going to interrogate Shino for information?"

I felt my whole body shake at this new thought, everyone in the village knew of the Uchiha's interrogation process, the Sharingan can do terrible things to a person's mind. Itachi however quickly held up his hands defensively.

"I assure you my intentions are purely for personal reasons, I do not particularly care for what my clan wants with your clan," Itachi explained, his gaze never leaving me, "Actually Shino, I was hoping I'd be able to test my abilities against your father, I have to admit after hearing about your clan I am curious to see how my Sharingan stands up to your fabled destruction beetles."

"I wouldn't do it if I were you," Shikamaru hissed, "It could just be a way for his clan to collect information on your clan."

I didn't really need Shikamaru to tell me this; such a bold proposition would cause anyone to suspect this. But that was the thing, Uchiha Itachi was the best of his clan, he could have gotten the information anytime he wanted, he didn't need to try and trick me…

"Come to my clan whenever you deem necessary," I spoke, making sure my voice was free of stuttering, "You can ask my father then, I shall make sure you are welcomed."

"Thank you, Aburame Shino," Itachi replied, bowing low now, I was once again forced to look away from him, the notion of such a shinobi _bowing _to me didn't sit with me, when I looked back Itachi had turned and was walking calmly back the way he came.

"Until me meet again," Itachi called before turning a corner and disappearing.

Shikamaru shook his head and gave me an amused look as I stood there, still trying to take in all that just happened and Naruto continued to sulk from Itachi's relaying.

"Man, you sure are attracting a lot of unwanted attention," My lazy friend pointed out with a small smile.

XXXXXX

"Shino? Anytime now please, buddy," Shikamaru cooed, bringing my focus back to the game, not that he knew it was ever away.

"Sorry, thinking," I replied for the twelfth time, finding myself once again thanking the higher powers for the Aburame's style of clothing as I snuck one final glance at the small Hyuga sitting across the meadow, her pale eyes seemed permanently trained on the ground.

Ever since I had seen her today I wondered how she thought of me now, worried about it to be honest. All the other children, besides Shikamaru and Naruto, had been very clear of what they thought of me, especially Ino and her new pink-haired friend Sakura. I had made certain that I was never looking in the general direction of Sasuke.

Strangely enough the children's hatred didn't bother me as much as it used to. At first I figured I had just gotten used to it, but that was stupid, no one could just _get used_ to having so many people hate you. I then looked at my two friends; Shikamaru was staring up at the clouds, waiting for me to make my "well thought-out" move while Naruto laid out on his belly near the _shogi _board, trying his best to understand what we were doing. I allowed a small smile creep from beneath my collar.

I knew it was because of _them _that the other children didn't bother me as much. With my new friends by my side I could care less what anyone else thought of me. Yet at this thought I unintentionally allowed my eyes drift back to Hinata.

_But still…_

"I win," Shikamaru suddenly declared, disturbing my thoughts, I looked back at him and saw his smug grin as he moved his hand from the piece that did it.

"But how?" I retorted, "I never moved."

"_You_ didn't," Shikamaru clarified, and then with a wave of his hand a few of my bugs lazily flew off the piece that had not been where I had left it before, "You're bugs did, you know you should really teach them to play, that was an amateur move."

I let out a defeated sigh as Naruto giggled on the ground. I looked up at the sky, seeing all of my old friends flying around, enjoying the temporary freedom. Naruto and Shikamaru soon joined me.

"I wish I could control my own swarm of destruction beetles," Naruto said, sighing dreamily, "I don't have any special skills right now, but with bugs, I'd be unstoppable!"

"My dad said that when he teaches me our clan's secret jutsu I'll be known as the coolest kid in our Academy," Shikamaru told us but then shook his head, laughing softly, "But after seeing what Shino can do, I hardly doubt that, besides I'm really not all that interested in being cool, too troublesome."

"I'm not interested in that either." I said, not knowing why I bothered to say it, it was pretty obvious just by looking at me, Shikamaru and Naruto exchanged looks however.

"So what _are _you interested in?" Shikamaru asked, actually looking genuinely curious, "As you can probably already tell Naruto and I aren't all that complicated, you pretty much know who we really are after only a day."

"I'm plenty complicated!" Naruto challenged but when Shikamaru gave him a stern look he quickly dropped his confidence, "Okay maybe not _plenty_…"

"My point," Shikamaru emphasized, "Is that neither of us know anything about you besides the obvious facts that you are a bug freak who is bad at _shogi."_

Shikamaru's blunt observations made me feel a little put-out but he smiled soon after he said them so I didn't take it to heart. Besides what he said was true, and if you really looked into it I was the one that had gotten us together like this, okay it was my bugs fault but I never stopped any of this from happening when I could did I?

"I don't really know what to say," I admitted, "We're only eight after all; I don't think many of us are that complicated just because of that."

"True," Shikamaru noted, "But not even a two year old is as blank as you make yourself out to be."

"That's just how I choose to live," I explained, "To be in the background, to do more listening than speaking, it's who I am."

"Why in the world would you want to live like _that_!?" Naruto suddenly burst out, giving me a shocked expression, "No one will ever know you, and no one would respect you, you'd just be like another nobody that people wouldn't even notice when you died!"

Shikamaru and I shared a look; I had never once heard Naruto speak like this. He held the same confidence as he always did, but there was something more, he wasn't grinning like a buffoon and there was a steely determination in his expression as he spoke as well as a far off look in his eyes.

"I never knew my parents," Naruto suddenly said, and a second later all the confidence and pride drained from his face, revealing a side of Naruto I didn't even think existed, his utterly and completely sad side, "They died when I was born, they were killed fighting off the great fox demon that once almost destroyed this village eight years ago, and I don't know why, but ever since then everyone I meet gives me the same look, they all _hate _me and treat me like dirt."

I looked on at Naruto with new light. This wasn't just some hyperactive dunce that could make me smile. There was more to him, _way _more than I had given him credit for. It was like the cheerful Naruto I met was just a mask, a person that distracted you from the true inner Naruto, the one that was alone and in pain.

"But then the old man, Sarutobi, found me and gave me a home, he even got me into the Ninja Academy," Naruto then looked at Shikamaru and I his face now with the wide smile I suddenly realized I missed seeing on his face, "And that's where I met you two, you guys and the old man are the only people who have shown me any kind of kindness and respect, and I want the whole village to be the same way towards me, I want everyone to know my name!"

Suddenly Naruto was on his feet, his steely determination back in his face, "One day I will become the strongest shinobi in this entire village, I will practice and train until I reach that goal and beyond, I will make everyone regret looking down on me!"

Now he was yelling, and I knew for sure everyone was watching. I felt my head sink into my collar as he jumped up into a tree; Shikamaru buried his head in his hands.

"Oh man, what have I started?" He mumbled to himself.

"You hear that you bunch of wannabe ninjas!?" Naruto declared from his vantage point on the tallest branch of the tree, "One day I'll be better than all of you, because one day…_I'm going to be Hokage_!"

XXXXXX

"Naruto, you freakin' idiot!" Shikamaru scolded from my right side as he leaned back into his seat with a sigh, "I can't believe you got the three of us detention on the 3rd day of school, how troublesome."

"Yeeeeeah, sorry about that guys," Naruto said from my left, leaning forward into his rope restraints so he could get a better look at us, "Guess I got a little carried away there…"

"A _little?" _Shikamaru repeated, he then shook his head, "Man, whatever, I guess this beats having to actually train."

"I'd second guess that if I were you, Nara Shikamaru," Iruka said, walking towards us with an assortment of cleaning supplies in his arms, "I can assure you training will be a cake walk compared to what I'm going to put you guys through."

"Bring it on!" Naruto declared, "It'll be worth it whatever it is!" He then turned his attention to me, "Hey Shino, didja see how high I was on that tree? I bet the whole village heard me!"

"Quiet idiot, before you get us into more trouble!" Shikamaru shot. I sighed.

_Out of all the people…_

XXXXXX

It was sunset by the time we had finished detention, cleaning up the entire Academy, with no help from jutsus, not that any of us knew any. Our body's and minds were sore, I would have used my bugs to assist, my mother has me use them to help the maids all the time around the clan buildings, calling it _practice_, but Iruka had made it clear that the job could only be done with our given strength. Shikamaru soon announced that training would have been much less troublesome.

"And to think after all of that _we're_ the ones really paying the price while Mr. Hokage wanna-be just seems to have gotten pumped up by it," Shikamaru whispered jokingly to me as Naruto strode on ahead of us, then to Naruto: "You know after getting pummeled by an Uchiha then being forced to do slave work for five straight hours you'd think a person would be less…active."

"Are you kidding!?" Naruto called back, throwing a fist into the air, "That detention just got my blood pumping, think I might go train near the woods before I head home actually, either of you guys with me?"

Shikamaru gave me an exasperated look before turning back on Naruto, "Are _you _kidding? I'm completely beat because of what you did, I'm heading home."

Without another word he then began to head off down the path out of the Academy and I started to follow him when Naruto suddenly jumped into my path, "How about you Shino, you want to join me?"

"I don't think that would be wise," I replied, avoiding his begging eyes, I really disliked disappointing him but my body felt so close to collapsing…

"Pleeeeeease Shino?" Naruto insisted, "We won't stay long and you don't even have to do anything…I just wanted some company…"

This time I did look at Naruto, his voice painfully reminded me of how he spoke when he talked of losing his parents. Unfortunately when I did his big, pleading blue eyes were all that I could see. I knew I would hate myself for a long time if I denied just being his company.

"Alright," I finally said, raising a finger into the air I summoned one of my beetles, relaying in my head for it to tell my father that I would be out a little late training, and to let my mother know. The beetle received the message and flew off.

"Let's go."

XXXXXX

The training field near the woods was already beginning to be almost too dark to see when we arrived, but Naruto still looked as pumped as ever.

"Watch me Shino!" Naruto announced, instantly racing down the grass to confront a wooden dummy. The blonde boy leapt into the air pulling out four shuriken in the process. With a loud battle cry Naruto threw the weapons, three completely missed their target but one managed to sink into the wooden dummy's neck with a solid _ka-thunk_.

"Didja see that Shino!?" Naruto called to me as he ran over to collect his shuriken, "That was totally a killing blow!"

I let out a small groan as I leaned myself into a nearby tree, slowly sinking into the ground. Just the walk here had been a toll on my muscles. Watching Naruto leap and bound around the training area made them ache even more. Yet as I felt my body relax into the ground my thoughts drifted back to what my friend said.

"_I never knew my parents, they died when I was born, they were killed fighting off the great fox demon that once almost destroyed this village eight years ago, and I don't know why, but ever since then everyone I meet gives me the same look, they all hate me and treat me like dirt."_

He was dealing with almost the same thing I found myself enduring from the Uchiha's and my fellow classmates. Only it was on a completely different scale. It wasn't just certain groups of people who hated him; it was nearly the entire village by the sounds of it.

And yet…

"Watch Shino, watch!" Naruto ordered, grinning wildly as he pulled eight shuriken from his pockets now, "This time I'm going to hit him with all eight!"

Mask or not, he manages to still enjoy life and have this kind of attitude even despite the fact that so many people hate him for no apparent reason. He's got strength, more than anyone else I have ever met while at the same time being the most annoying, hyperactive child I have ever met. I groaned as my muscles fought viciously against me as I stood up.

"Hey Naruto!" I called; the boy looked up from his scavenging of the eight shuriken that littered the floor, "Mind if I try?"

"Sure!" Naruto replied, obviously glad that he wasn't going to be doing this alone anymore, "Lemme just find the rest these things…"

"Don't bother," I quickly cut in, reaching into the small pouch that was strapped around my leg, "I have my own."

The muscles in my arms continued to whine and groan as I reached down and pulled out several kunai, but I ignored them as best as I could. I situated myself directly across from the wooden dummy; Naruto had already abandoned his searching and was sitting a ways off, eagerly waiting for me to make my move. I let out a deep breath, letting my fingers relax around the hilts of the knives. Then a split moment later my wrist flicked, sending the kunai out of my grip and directed straight towards the dummy, they however weren't the only things that left me.

A swarm of my friends suddenly burst out from under my sleeve making me stumble back with a surprised gasp. They targeted and quickly engulfed the thrown weapons in mid-air. Then, without a moment's notice, they latched on to the blades and abruptly directed them to the left, straight at Naruto!

"Watch out, Naruto!" I warned, my friend let out a surprised yelp and quickly fell to the ground, the knives missing him by a hair as they continued into the woods.

"What in the world was that for!?" Naruto exclaimed, back up in a second with fire in his eyes.

"That wasn't me," I quickly tried to explain; "It was my bugs, they –."

I was cut off, however, when a shrill shriek erupted in our ears, coming from the direction that my kunai was forced to fly off in. With quick realization I knew what had happened. My insects had sensed someone, and acted defensively against them.

_Oh lord…_

"What was that?" Naruto asked me, looking as scared as I felt.

"I…think my kunai hit someone," I told him honestly; I could easily see his eyes get wider, "We need to go check."

"Seriously?" My friend looked close to fainting, his gaze shifting to the dark woods, "B-b-but it's dark and…what if the guy you hit is still alive…and angry?"

"Naruto," I said sternly, not wanting to do this to my friend but knowing that there was not other way, "We are training to be ninjas, were going to have to deal with stuff like this all the time one day, you need to learn to hide your fear and face the darkness, otherwise you can never become a full-fledged shinobi…let alone Hokage."

At this something seemed to click in Naruto's head, the fear suddenly gone as if it wasn't even fully visible on his face just a moment ago.

"Your right Shino!" He declared, clenching his fists, "I can't be afraid all the time like this if I want to be Hokage someday! I'm a ninja in training damnit!"

Then Naruto leapt into the woods, yelling his battle cry as he did, "You better say your prayers whoever you are! Because Uzumaki Naruto is coming to get'cha!"

With a groan of both pain and frustration I followed my hasty friend into the darkness.

"A full fledged shinobi is also a master of stealth, Naruto," I muttered under my breath as I listened to him crash through the limbs and bushes of the forest. It made keeping up with him easy at least…

XXXXXX

It didn't take us long to reach the site where my kunai had been directed to. Naruto was there in a matter of seconds after he bounded into the woods shouting his death threats. I saw him standing still in front of a massive tree as I approached, but when he moved aside and I saw who was pinned up to it I instantly felt my whole body freeze up and all the blood to rush out of my head, I thought _I_ was going to faint!

"It's just a little girl," Naruto observed as he kneeled down next to the figure, her arms where spread wide as they were pinned up into the tree by my kunai. Her head slumped over making her short blue hair billow around her head.

"It's the Hyuga girl…" I heard myself say, but my mind felt elsewhere, I wasn't seeing this, not the cute little girl I saw only twice stuck into a tree by _my _weapons, by _my _doing.

"Is she still alive?" Naruto quirked, his face now inches from her hidden one, he reached out a finger to poke her.

"Your going to hurt her if she is," I pointed out, walking towards them, but stopped when the girl suddenly groaned and her head tilted back up slowly. When it did she got a full view of my friends face looking directly at her.

"Hi!" Naruto greeted, completely oblivious to how close they were, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, who are you?"

"N-n-naruto…?" The Hyuga girl breathed, her face suddenly lit up as red as a tomato.

"Hey, are you alright!? You look sick!" Naruto asked, instantly worried he put his cheek against her forehead, as he did this I felt a weird feeling come over me, as if someone had grabbed my heart and was twisting it around, I didn't have much time to look into it however when suddenly the Hyuga girl let out yet another yell and her foot, reflex or not, connected with Naruto's stomach. My poor friend let out a whoosh of air and fell on his back.

The spastic motion caused the Hyuga girl's jacket to rip at the sleeves, freeing her from my kunai as she flopped to the ground. I let out a quick sigh of relief, immensely grateful that my kunai dug into fabric and not flesh; I quickly rushed to her side.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked kneeling by her side but I knew my question would go unanswered. The girl was out cold, though her face was still dark red and there was even a strange smile on her face. For some reason I felt the same sensation in my heart when I saw that, knowing exactly _who_ she was smiling about.

"What…happened?" Naruto gasped, standing up on shaking feet as he clutched his gut.

"She fainted," I stated, then with a sudden idea I turned the opposite way, still kneeling, "Naruto, place her on my back if you please, make sure her arms are around my neck."

"Uh, sure thing," Naruto obliged, confused at my sudden order but picking the girl up gently and lowering her on my back nonetheless, he then smoothly wrapped her arms around me as I pulled my arms up underneath her legs, I then rose with her cradled easily on my back, she didn't weigh a thing!

"What are you going to do with her?" Naruto asked me, still rubbing his stomach as we slowly made our way back out of the woods, "Do you know where she lives?"

"Yeah," I replied, looking at the dozing girl's face as she rested on my shoulder, "I recognize her as one of the Hyuga ninjas, their clan is near mine, I can drop her off on the way home."

"Oh, well that's good," Naruto nodded, yawning loudly, "Well I would join you Shino, but I have to get up early for training tomorrow, can't risk sleeping in ya know?"

"Right," I agreed quickly, surprising myself when I realized I was happy Naruto wanted to leave, it would mean I could walk alone with the Hyuga girl, "See you tomorrow."

"Bye!" Naruto waved, already racing back home, no doubt eager to get to bed, already looking forward to the training in the morning.

I shook my head, though still careful not to disturb my new dozing accessory. The day that boy runs out of energy is the day I take off my sunglasses…

XXXXXX

Pain…terrible wrenching god-awful pain coursed through my body at each step. My muscles had unfortunately decided to be silent about their soreness when I had asked Naruto to place the cute girl on my back, and now that the action was done I was stuck holding up her unconscious body as mine ached to be just as unconscious.

"Just a little further," I coaxed myself, I could already see the rooftops of the Hyuga's mansion, "Just a little further and then you can let go."

I wasn't completely sure what I was going to tell the Hyuga ninjas when I arrived there with one of their own cradled unconsciously on my back. Explaining to them that my thrown kunai was taken over by my own bugs and thrown at her without my meaning to didn't quite seem like the best excuse.

And on that note I was also very busily trying to think of a way to punish my friends for such a disobeying act. Not only had they flown off without my desire for them to for a third time but now they could have almost killed someone! I had decided the first thing to do will be to have a nice long talk with my father about this; he would know what to do more than anyone.

A sudden noise in my ear pulled me from my brooding and reminded me that a young girl, who has no idea what was going on, lay straddled on my back and was now starting to wake up with her arms wrapped around a boy she had never met before.

I was thinking of setting her down somewhere before she fully woke up when her arms suddenly gripped tighter around my throat. I figured it was just a reflex to her waking up, but after witnessing her "reflex" with Naruto I knew to be more careful.

"W-where am I?" She muttered, her pale eyes slowly began to open and I felt her grip grow tighter still.

"Do not worry, please," I spoke quickly, "You are safe, my name is Aburame Shino, I found you unconscious in the woods and now I am taking you back home."

I figured telling her my name would make her feel more comfortable, I was both relieved and gracious when her grip relaxed around my neck, but her eyes were now focused away from me, I knew she was probably still not anywhere near at ease.

"I…recognize you as one of the Hyuga's," I brought up, both proving that I knew where I was going and trying to make small conversation, the latter being something I was very unused to, "But I don't know your name…"

"M-my name is Hinata," The girl said shyly, I looked over at her, expecting her eyes to be still focused on the ground, only to find that she was staring back at me, I quickly looked away despite myself, "W-were you the one with N-naruto?"

There it was, the same heart twisting feeling, "Yes," I answered after a moment, "We were training."

"Oh," Was all Hinata responded with. I mentally kicked myself for being so abrupt. What was wrong with me? Just from hearing her say Naruto's name…

"What were you doing out there?" I asked, eager to keep the conversation going and to block out my strange new thoughts.

"I…I was training too," Hinata answered.

"Oh," I said. This small talk thing was harder than I thought; neither of us seemed to be much of talkers and I wasn't about to tell her who it was that almost killed her with kunai, as long as she didn't ask I figured the whole event best left forgotten…

"Y-you can let me off here," Hinata spoke up after several minutes, we were standing near the gateway into the Hyuga mansion. I slowly kneeled down and released her legs, allowing her to smoothly slide off and be back up on her own two feet. Even though my muscles were basically screaming in joy I couldn't help but feel saddened when my back suddenly felt less warm.

"T-thank-you, Shino," Hinata said to me, bowing graciously.

I felt myself flush as she said my name. But I quickly got myself back together, returning her bow, "You are welcome, Hinata," I replied and felt my heart skip a beat when I saw her blush as I said it.

"Bye," She waved, quietly stepping through the gate and disappearing.

"Good-bye," I waved back, knowing full well that she could no longer hear me or see me.

XXXXXX

Home. After all the days stresses and pains I never could imagine how much a simple word could appeal to me. I walked briskly down the front path that led to the door, not at all, at the moment, caring whether my mother would scold me or nor for being out late two nights in a row, just eager to be in my own bed and be able to finally rest my sore body and brain.

"Oh, well hello Shino," A sudden familiar voice greeted from behind me, instantly causing all the joyful thoughts the drain out of me and being replaced by cold shivers running up my spine, I turned around slowly, hardly wanting to believe that he would be here so soon.

"Sorry if I seem a little…hasty," Itachi said with a smile, his red eyes gleaming in the dark, "But I was told anytime I deem necessary, right?"

I could only stare back at the top ranked Uchiha, after a moment the only thing that was able to form out of my mouth was a deep sigh.

This was going to be a long night.

_**To Be Continued…**_


	5. Heated Promises

Huzah, first real fight sequence of this story, hope everyone enjoys it while I hope I can pull off describing fights

**Huzah, first real fight sequence of this story, hope everyone enjoys it while I hope I can pull off describing fights.**

**Ah well.**

**Here goes nothing.**

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 5: Heated Promises**_

XXXXXXX

"You…_are_ a bit earlier than expected," I pointed out, not able to hold myself from taking a step back this time, Itachi's Sharingan studied my every movement and emotion, I knew it did, and as I stared back into those eyes my previously forgotten dream suddenly awoken itself back in my memories, increasing the familiar fear that was escalating in my head.

"My apologies," Itachi replied, slightly bowing to me again, I wished he would stop, it was almost as if he was taunting me by being so formal when we both knew he didn't need to, "If this is truly an inconvenient time I can return later…"

I paused before I dared an answer. Itachi had straightened back up and his face portrayed no give away to what he was thinking, he even had a polite smile set up to try and put me at ease. But I wasn't fooled. The elite Uchiha's face may have been a blank to me but his eyes weren't, the chakra induced red irises never left me for even a moment, they stared, cold and dangerous, into me. _They seemed to be daring me to actually suggest I tell them to postpone witnessing the bloodshed their eager to cause._

I let out a quick rush of air at that thought. I didn't think it. I quickly glanced away from Itachi, being in his gaze for too long was dangerous, I had to get rid of him. Yet simply telling him to leave when he appeared to be so eager to fight my father seemed a far more dangerous move then sitting in his gaze and letting him manipulate my mind. I found my alternative options to be all but non-existent, even more so when a tall figure began to make its way hurriedly out the front door and in our direction.

"Shino?" My father called, hearing his voice I felt my heart drop into my stomach, out of the corner of my eye I saw Itachi take a step further, "Shino, who is that with you?"

"I apologize for my abruptness ahead of time, Aburame Shibi, but you must be tested properly," Itachi spoke hurriedly, then in a flash, before I had even time to blink, the Uchiha let fly multiple kunai, all of them sinking into my father's chest before he could take another step.

"Father!" I cried, finding my voice, rushing over to him as he fell, but before I could even reach him his body suddenly burst into a large swarm of his beetles. I stopped dead in my tracks, dumbfounded.

"Bug clone…very clever," Itachi mused, pulling out his katana as he quietly hunted for my father with his keen eyes.

I could only stand there and stare, glancing quickly over at the cloud of bugs I had believed to be my father, I never felt more useless.

"Flee, my son!" A small version of my father's voice suddenly whispered into my ear, I jumped in surprise, but only slightly, trying my best to make sure my movements didn't give my father away somehow, "Quickly, get into the house, I shall deal with this boy."

"But father-!" I began turning to face him and warn him that it wasn't just some boy he was dealing with, but when I did all I saw was one of my father's bugs, zooming from near my head and back into the swarm that was still where my dad's clone used to be.

Itachi seemed to notice this as well, for in a blur of motion I couldn't catch he threw his sword into the swarm. The blade flew harmlessly between the small insects and sunk deeply into one of the wooden pillars behind them.

"You're going to have to do better than that," My father's informed, his voice coming from everywhere around us, I was glad to finally recognize a technique he had shown me before. Sending some of his beetles into the surrounding air, using his chakra to send his thoughts into their minds, then pushing those brainwaves out through the bug's hyper-sensitive sensory organs, projecting his voice so his enemies will believe him to be in another location or everywhere at once.

My reminiscing was interrupted abruptly when the cloud of insects suddenly shot off in my direction. Forming the shape of a large hand in mid-air they grabbed me before I had time to react. I didn't put up much fight though, I knew I was no use to my father here, and I did agree that Itachi would be able to find him…but still I couldn't help but feel I betrayed my father somehow.

'_Listen to me please," _I said through my thoughts, concentrating my chakra and pushing it hopefully into my father's beetle's heads, I had to help somehow, _'My father, your hive, is fighting Uchiha Itachi, top ninja of his clan and master of the Sharingan, he needs to take special precaution."_

I couldn't tell if his beetles heard me or not. The insect hand placed me gently in the doorway of the front door my father had come from, then flew back off into the sky, hopefully to tell my father of the new development.

The next several minutes were very long and very quiet. I knew I should have been inside and safe like my father had wished but I also knew that was impossible. Instead I remained frozen where his bugs had planted me, staring intently at Itachi as the Uchiha stood motionless in the center of our yard, eyes closed. Even with his Sharingan he wasn't able to locate my father.

"…Well Itachi I'm surprised to understand that you have come to challenge me, to say the least," My father finally spoke, I felt relief lighten my heart once again, I managed to speak to his bugs!

"Really, Shibi, surprised?" Itachi responded, his eyes slowly opening, the Sharingan still in place, "After your son disgraced my little brother I would have suspected you to be expecting my clan arriving to challenge your clan,"

My father remained silent for a short while at this, I quickly felt shame weigh back down heavily upon me having to hear my father learn of such a disgrace from Itachi and not his own son. I could almost feel his piercing gaze, always able to make me shudder even with his shades.

"Then, please allow me to allow your clan to take back their precious honor," my father replied, suddenly appearing before Itachi in a swirling tunnel of his insects, then without another word he fell to his knees, "Do whatever you see fit to repent for what my son has done to your brother."

"No fa-!" I tried to call out but a sudden gag fell around my mouth, cleanly cutting away my voice, and sealing my lips shut, in shock I tried to look down to see what had befallen my mouth but I found I was unable to. My whole body was going numb, I couldn't move a muscle!

It was all I could do to just simply look back at my father; my head was beginning to feel very light. Both he and Itachi were looking at me now, neither had a face that could give away what they were thinking. Not like it mattered, nothing mattered right now. All I needed was sleep, sleep and everything would be okay.

I sunk to my knees without feeling it, my eyes were growing hazy and begging to be closed shut and who was I to deny them such a blissful grace?

Not me….not….

XXXXXX

_Uchiha Itachi_

Shino collapsed completely to the ground, the effects of his father's sleeping jutsu working in full now. Some of Shibi's beetles flew off his son after making sure the boy was completely asleep, I couldn't help but admire the subtlety in which the Aburame's worked their techniques. I looked down at their head shinobi now, kneeling before me.

"Rise to your feet, Shibi," I encouraged, "I did not come to challenge you to rectify my brother's honor, I am here on my own account, to test my Sharingan with your beetles."

"I see, well then I would like to apologize for _my_ abruptness, but…" Shibi muttered, slowly rising, I kept my Sharingan on his every movement, if he tried to attack, I would see it coming before he even did, yet when the Aburame ninja looked at me I was too late to notice the dry smile on his face, "Consider the test, failed."

I knew what was going to happen even before the clone burst into another swarm of his beetles, but at the same time I knew I was still too slow. The real Shibi landed smoothly behind me, pulling out his own kunai and wrapping my arms behind my back, expertly placing his weapon so it was pointing at the back of my neck at the same time. Even with the Sharingan I was too slow to even turn around.

"I'm…impressed," I admitted, releasing a small groan as I felt him push into my arms, the pain seared through them like a quick jolt, "You seem to have a knack for deception."

"Runs in the family," I heard Shibi say from behind me, "We call it, 'An Ace in the Hole'."

I smiled widely at that, glad that Shibi didn't see; I needed him to be exactly where he was. But the irony was too great; it almost caused me to laugh! It was honestly a very clever ideal in battle…

"Is that so, Shibi?" I spoke, my voice coming out plain and flat, no reason for him to suspect, no reason for him to flee, "I'll have to remember that tactic…Shibi."

That was it, saying his name twice defiantly made the Aburame wary, I felt his grip loosen, but it was far too late. He was already finished.

My body melted, right in his hands. I heard Shibi gasp as I folded into myself, my now sticky substance melted into his arms, sealing them in place. What once had been my legs now became a sticky puddle that formed around Shibi's feet, making those immovable as well. With the fly now stuck I expertly twisted my sloppy head around 180 degrees so I could give the silent Aburame one final look at my Sharingan before that too caved into my skull and my clone completely became a sticky gooey trap for my opponent. I slowly opened my eyes, back in my true form; I leapt from one of the clan's rooftops and landed directly in front of the ensnared Shibi.

"You were foolish to think you could catch me off guard so easily," I informed him, pulling a kunai from my pocket, "You were in my genjutsu the moment you voiced your thoughts through your insects, exposing your mind like that just made it far simpler to use my jutsu on them and let them transfer it to you as you talked through them."

I then stood directly in front of Shibi; I placed the kunai inside his collar, the point dangerously close to his exposed neck, "Consider this _my _ace in the hole."

Shibi looked back into me, no smile this time, just blank staring, he knew he had been caught, he was no clone, in this technique, my Sharingan could easily tell the difference. All that was to happen now was his unconditional surrender…

"Then you can consider this mine as well," the Aburame replied, and before I could make a move the insects were on me. All directed towards my face, my eyes. I was blinded, the sudden intensified noise of the insects threw me off balance; I lost my kunai the same instant I lost my Sharingan. This wasn't just normal insect buzzing; the sound waves they were producing made my head feel instantly heavy as my ears were completely being destroyed by the noise….

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shibi_

"Enough," I ordered my insects, that had done their job; the genjutsu and Itachi were finished.

My insects flew back into my body, leaving a defeated Uchiha on the ground, hands over his ears and eyes shut tight. I knew the Sharingan wouldn't be seen when he reopened them.

"It seems I have…underestimated your clans capabilities," Itachi spoke softly, his hands falling from his ears and his eyes opening, the iris were their normal shade of black once again, "Your insects saw through my genjutsu and attacked while I had my guard down, you are the victor."

"To be honest, this was not a true, honorable fight," I told the boy, extending my hand, Itachi looked at it for a moment before accepting my help, "When I moved my son from safety he informed me of your identity, in the dark I did not recognize you and have underestimated _your _capabilities…this fight could have easily turned out differently."

Once on his feet Itachi studied me for several moments before shrugging his shoulders, "Perhaps, but for now you have bested me, I intend to hone my skills and challenge you again another day, Aburame Shibi, I advise you to be prepared for me at all times."

"I shall keep that in mind, Uchiha Itachi," I replied, bowing shortly, but quickly adding, "Just please leave my son out of such a thing next time."

I caught a hint of a smile on the boy before he quickly hid it with a bow of his own, "I assure you, I do not wish the boy to come to any harm, I am…curious about his capabilities as well."

This sent a jolt to my head, the way the boy said it was defiantly not welcoming, but before I could say anything his Sharingan suddenly appeared, catching me off-guard and instantly I felt my body stiffen. It was another genjutsu, but with my bugs inside my body there was no way to break it.

Itachi however simply turned around, walking his way back down my front lawn. As he did he held up a hand in a farewell wave.

"Until next time…Ace," He called before vanishing like a shadow in the night.

As soon as he did I felt the genjutsu fade away. Yet I still stood there, motionless, staring at the spot where the Uchiha boy had vanished. I only did this for several seconds before I turned back to my house and my sleeping son. I quietly picked the boy up when I reached him; the sleeping drug I planted in his body would wear off by morning and hopefully will absolve all memories of this night when he did.

As I carried the boy back to his bed I couldn't help but have one uncharacteristic thought, after all he _had_ been out late tonight. It was probably nothing but I still couldn't help but hope that…

_nothing important happened to him tonight…_

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shino _

I woke up confused. Confused because I awoke in my own bed, which would normally be something that wouldn't rack my brains this thoroughly, but it was the simple fact that I didn't remember falling asleep that got me. In fact, all I could remember was leaving the Ninja Academy, sore and worn out, before my mind shifted into the blackness. Perhaps I passed out on my way home?

I decided to go with this option right away. It was the only one that made sense. Naruto and Shikamaru must have carried me back to my home once I passed out; I'd have to thank them during training today.

As I arose from bed the sudden outcry of my muscles very quickly made me wish there was no such thing as Ninja training. I quite nearly fell back on my face when I shakily stood on my own two feet. That cleaning must have taken more out of me than I thought.

With throbbing arms I slipped on my jacket and sunglasses, the secure feeling of these accessories made the pain a little more bearable, but just a little.

I made sure I would do all I could not to make any dead giveaways to my parents that I was in any sort of pain when I walked into the kitchen. Father wouldn't do anything about it but I knew my mother would throw a fit and rub lotion, massage me, anything it took to make sure I was better. The thought of the long list almost made me outwardly shudder.

"Did you sleep well, Shino?" my mother asked me as soon as I stepped into the room, her abruptness threw me a tad off guard.

"I slept…fine…" I replied warily, though she simply nodded and smiled before quickly looking back down on the food she was preparing.

"Where's father?" I asked her after sitting down at the table, I wasn't normally one for small talk in the mornings, but her strange behavior was putting me a little off ease, I wanted to make sure she was normal today.

"He's with the Hokage," my mother replied, not once looking away from the meal she was fixing, "He was called in to meet him just before you woke up."

"Oh," I said, quietly digesting this, the _Hokage_ wanted to see my father? "Was it for another mission?"

"Don't ask me," she quickly responded, looking up at me finally, her face revealed nothing to me, even though her voice continued to hint more, "One of those ANBU shinobi showed up requesting that Shibi come to the Hokage's office…and that it was urgent."

"Oh," I heard myself say again, but what more could I say? Sure it was unusual for an ANBU to ask for my father if it was just for a mission, but it was none of my business. This was a matter for higher ranked shinobi, nothing that concerned a child still in training.

"Now quickly, eat your breakfast," my Mother said interjecting my thoughts by slapping down the plate of food before me with such force I jumped in my seat, yet this went unnoticed, "You'll be late for training if you don't hurry, Shino."

"…yes, Mother," I replied, eyeing the back of her head as I slowly ate (the task of pulling down my collar to do so always mildly frustrated me), her demeanor did not change slightly, in fact it seemed to have worsened, my mother not even bothering to hide it from me that she was troubled…

"Moth-…Mom….are you alright?" I asked, my voice containing as much concern as possible, I wasn't entirely used to talking with planned emotion, "You seem a little…tense this morning…"

"Hah! _Tense _am I?" she laughed, turning around with a strange smile on her face, "You know for such a little boy you sure do know some big words!"

I proceeded carefully this time, I knew quickly that I was treading dangerous waters, "You know this…Mom…father taught me how to talk…"

"Ooooh did he now?" Aburame Amarante, the scariest non-shinobi I have ever met, asked, "Well I do hope he has not taught you how to _act _as well!"

"What…uh…what do you mean?" I asked, very slowly, very quietly.

My mother was right in my face now, a very stern look had now crossed over her countenance, she looked angrier than I had ever seen her look before, and I didn't even remember doing anything wrong! She then reached out a hand and I instinctively closed my eyes and flinched, waiting for whatever pain this strange new woman was about to conflict. Yet when the physical contact connected it was the simple, familiar feeling of my mother ruffling the bush that was my hair and when I opened my eyes my mother was still in front of me, but with a happier smile planted on her face. I couldn't help but believe that it was just another forced action, but I welcomed it.

"I'm sure your father will be more than happy to explain it to you when you return," my mother assured, walking back into the kitchen, "Now finish your food, Shino."

When I went back to my breakfast I could only stare at it, I wasn't really in the mood for eating anymore…

XXXXXX

I escaped the house as quickly as possible. I managed to do this without any suspicions from my mother, she believing I was rushing to make it to the Academy on time and not to escape a crazy woman who had temporarily become his mother.

I cared for my mother dearly, but as most men will say, Shikamaru in particular, any woman in a mood such as my mother's would make _anyone_ clear the room. I found it quite surprising that my father was the apparent reason for her bad temper. Aburame's aren't exactly known for being ill tempered, even my non-shinobi mother…_especially _my non-shinobi mother.

Adding on to that, my father and mother don't even communicate that much. I see it hard to believe that my father could say anything that could have angered her. He must have done something then that wasn't to her liking…but what?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I did not notice the masked ninja in front of me until I nearly bumped into him.

"Well, hello again," the ANBU ninja greeted cheerily as I staggered back a few steps, inwardly ashamed to be caught off-guard like that, "Your Aburame Shino aren't you?"

I didn't reply right away, still a little shocked from running into an unexpected, familiar person in my own front yard, I took one fleeting glance at his gray hair before answering: "Yes, are you Hatake Kakashi?"

The man took a moment to reply as well but when he did it came out as a deep sigh first before chuckling softly and scratching the back of his head.

"It seems my reputation is making wearing this mask a little foolish," Kakashi mused, placing a few fingers on the animal face lightly, before letting them fall back to his side, "But I suppose I'm wearing it more out of habit then for secret identity purposes anyways, but I am getting off track, I was sent here to request your presence in the Hokage's office…oh, and that the matter was quite urgent."

I was instantly thrown into the thoughts of my father, the Hokage wanted to see him for similar reasons…why was I involved? Maybe something _did_ happen during my blackness, maybe I didn't just fall asleep…but then what….what?

"The Hokage wants to…see me?" I still couldn't help but ask, despite my reluctance to hold up such an important man's time, "Does this involve my father?"

"Mmm, yes you could say that," Kakashi replied, giving no hint that he was going to say anything further on the matter, instead he turned his back on me and bent down on his knees, an act that struck a strong sense of déjà vu but I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why.

"I wish I could answer more of your questions, Shino, but I'm afraid time is of the essence, things over there are getting a tad bit…heated," He then stuck back his arms, as if offering a piggy-back ride, which, to my extreme uncomfortable ness, was more than likely his exact intentions, "Do you mind? I really should get you there as quickly as possible."

"…No, its fine," I answered after a moment, I wasn't going to enjoy it, but I had to admit I really desired to get there as quickly as possible as well, things really weren't adding up... "My father and the Hokage are having…problems?"

My father had the utmost respect for Sarutobi, he always did everything in his power to assist the Hokage and complete the missions from him and the village, and in return our own Hokage has chosen my father as one of his most trusted and reliable shinobi. To even imagine them in any type of argument, no matter how small, seemed like the most illogical thing I had ever thought of.

"Well…not exactly," Kakashi replied softly, as I carefully climbed onto his back and he secured his arms around my legs, I instinctively tensed up as soon as our bodies touched, but I tried to quickly relax to make it easier for him to hold me, "There are more parties involved than just the Hokage and the Aburame clan."

Realization struck home at the same moment Kakashi jumped into the air. The closing up feeling of my throat and the sinking feeling of my stomach as we shot into the air seemed to work harmoniously with each other; I thought I was going to be sick.

There was more than just the Aburame clan the Hokage was dealing with, and up until recently us Aburame's never had any real common enemies in the village. We were known for our silent nature and never bugging into anyone else's business. Only until recently had a single member from our clan shamed and dishonored one from another clan.

One stupid, stupid boy and his disloyal friends.

XXXXXX

Kakashi had to open the door for me when we were inside the Hokage's building. Standing in front of the two large wooden squares I found I could not summon the willpower to raise my hand and push it open, I could only stare. Stare at the doors and greatly wish I would never see what lay beyond them.

But it was inevitable. Kakashi quickly noticed my state of being and, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder, he used his free one to open the door, open it into the room that held the consequences for my failure, because, try as I might I could not blame my friends for what had transpired anymore.

I wanted to stop Sasuke.

I wanted my beetles to soar from my arms and hit that arrogant boy straight on and make him wish he never threatened or harmed my friend. I may have thought, at the time, that my bugs acted out on their own but they were in truth hearing my thoughts, sensing my desire to intervene, and acted on it.

It was only now, when I was witnessing what it had caused, that I realized I was the one who caused it.

All staring, all hating, their cold, hard eyes were all transfixed on me. I was confronted by my enemy and all I could do was cower in my jacket. Kakashi kept his firm grip on my shoulder and led me slowly into the room.

Most of the people in it were foreign to me, to be honest. But it was who I recognized that make all the familiar feelings of my troublesome first day of the Academy bubble up into my system.

There was my father, Aburame Shibi, the Hokage, Sarutobi…Uchiha Itachi…….his younger brother Uchiha Sasuke……..and their father Uchiha Fugaku.

There were a number of other Uchiha shinobi around them but it was their gazes that held my gaze. Itachi's was calm and unwavering as ever, but there was something a little more in them this time, like there was something he wanted to tell me. I didn't really have time to think on this when my gaze focused on Sasuke and his father however.

Their gazes mimicked one another. The other Uchiha's looks appeared similar to theirs, but I was no fool. The foreign shinobi only hated me from what they heard, they had no personal quarrel with me, and they did it simply because everyone else was. For Sasuke and his father, it was much more to them.

For Sasuke, it was the shame and humiliation of being caught of guard and given exactly what he deserves…I mean being attacked unfairly.

For Sasuke's father, it was the same feelings of helping give birth to such an Uchiha that would be so weak as to let this happen, and taking it out on me. I do not say this out of mere spite, I only go by facts, and I knew Fugaku, he was the perfect example of the stereotypical Uchiha shinobi.

"Ah, Kakashi, thank-you for brining him to me, I'm happy to see he was able to make it," Sarutobi said from beside his desk, giving me a welcome smile, but I could see in his eyes that he was weary and tired, the smile was just a tad forced.

Kakashi sighed, "Seriously, why do I even wear this mask…" He mumbled to himself.

"Son, please come stand beside me," My father called to me, and I quickly obeyed, gently freeing myself from Kakashi's grasp, doing my best not to look at the Uchiha's as I felt their gazes follow me every step of the way, _why do they have to keep staring?_

"Shino, I believe you have some idea why you are here, correct?" the Hokage asked, looking straight at me, I forced myself to look back at him, and no where else.

"Yes, Hokage." I replied simply, now was not the time to show everyone how nervous I was, there was never a time to let anyone know what I was truly thinking and feeling, that's not how I was raised. Insects are unmoving, unfeeling they just go about their daily lives doing what needs to be-.

"I would hope, now that the boy is here, that we can get this over and done with?" Fugaku snapped, causing me to flinch in my jacket, his voice was like needles scratching over my brain.

"Patience, Fugaku," The Hokage quickly warned, "You were quick to start this matter, now I would hope you shall remain silent now until we bring it to its closing."

Fugaku snorted, "Just as long as my son gets his chance to reclaim his honor," he quietly warned back, I felt hatred bubble in my stomach for the man, but I held my tongue before I could lash out at him…wait…lash out?

"Now Shino, before we proceed, I need to ask you, is it true what the Uchiha's claim, did you strike out at Sasuke while he was sparring with another opponent?"

I didn't know what to say, I wanted to tell them that my friends had acted on their own, I would have told him that up to just a few moments ago, when I realized whose blame it really was. Yet still I remained silent, I didn't want to admit the truth that had just now made itself present to me. Fugaku was quick to act.

"See how he remains silent, Hokage!?" then Uchiha proclaimed, "Clearly his reluctance shows us he knows we are correct!"

"Fugaku, I said-!" the Hokage began, but broke off when my father suddenly stepped forward, his decorated glasses trained on the angered man.

"Do not be so quick to opinionate, Uchiha Fugaku," my father informed, his voice the same monotone that I remembered, but I knew how much it always terrified me when I knew he knew I had done something wrong, I was inwardly thrilled to see Fugaku looked almost the same way, "We of the Aburame clan are not known for our speech, but when we talk we plan on what we say first-hand, we think, making sure we do not blurt out any foolish, un-needed words…unlike other individuals."

Fugaku's face quickly turned a darker shade of red, he began to take his own steps forward, looking completely prepared to kill my father when a hand fell on his shoulder. I quickly connected it to the body of Uchiha Itachi.

"Father…enough," Itachi muttered, "This is a matter between Shino and Sasuke, it is not wise for anyone outside the two of them to interfere, especially not their fathers."

Fugaku was silent for a span of several seconds, looking from Itachi's hand to my father's solid, unmoving form, before with a grunt and a quick "Fine." shook off Itachi's hand and walked back to his place behind Sasuke, my father soon took his behind me.

"Now if we're ready, Sasuke and Shino, please step before the desk and we shall get this matter sorted out." The Hokage announced, waving a hand to the open floor before him.

Sasuke kept his gaze locked with mine as we approached from separate sides of the room. His father watching me as I knew my father was watching Sasuke. But I didn't stay focused for long on any of the outsiders, as Sasuke and I grew close to approaching the desk the Uchiha boy slowly cracked me a wide smile, his position hiding it from everyone but me, and silently his grin mouthed out the words…

_You are dead._

That's when it all hit me. The anger, the fury, the unfamiliar excitement of pounding another human beings face into the dirt. I could feel what Sasuke felt, only I knew this feeling was my own, my own hatred I could use to show Sasuke that even on fair grounds he was no match for me, I wanted to make him pay for hurting my friend, and he was going to pay.

No more fear, Uchiha Sasuke was going to receive no honor this day.

With new feelings in my heart I slightly pulled down my collar, revealing my own straight line of a mouth, before giving the Uchiha a few silent words of my own…

_Not if you die first._

XXXXXXX

_**To Be Continued…**_


	6. Sacrifices and Discoveries

**Before I begin with this chapter I'd first like to say, thank you all who have reviewed my story thus far! It is thanks to you guys that I got into the double digits of reviews!...oh and they really help with persuading me to write better and quicker as well of course.**

**(Small warning, this chapter takes a drastic twist I wasn't even expecting…)**

**Anyways, read and enjoy….and review!**

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 6: Sacrifices and Discoveries**_

XXXXXX

This was it. What I was suddenly craving for. I could feel the excitement sink deep into my gut, or was that nervousness? I honestly couldn't tell. Yet either way I knew this is what I wanted, I could even feel my friends buzzing around inside my jacket, inside my body. They knew what I wanted as well, and they wanted to act on my desires, but they knew to wait this time, because right here, right now we both were finally on the same page.

"This will remain a simple sparring match," the Hokage announced from somewhere to my far right, but I didn't bother to look, Sasuke didn't either, we only had eyes for the other, glaring our hatred from across the expansive rooftop, "There will be no fighting to the death, Shibi and I will intervene the fight if we must."

I heard Fugaku snort, "Oh come now Hokage, are you really afraid that my son will kill Shibi's?" At the sound of his voice I turned my head, by anger momentarily re-directed from the boy standing across from me.

"Do not test me, Fugaku," the Hokage informed, giving the man a stern look, "I am informing them merely as a warning and for safety procedures, now I will ask you again to remain silent."

Fugaku grumbled something too quiet for me to overhear, but I still had to force back a smug grin nonetheless. The Hokage turned his attention back to Sasuke and me.

"Now if you both will please move forward and face each other," the Hokage instructed, the Uchiha boy and myself obeying, still not looking at anything but each other again. This reminded me of just around thirty minutes ago when we were both doing this same exact thing before discussing with the Hokage how this would be settled, it didn't take long to come to an agreement.

Now we were here, standing right in front of one another, eyes glaring, fists clenched. This is what Sasuke wanted…and now, suddenly, it was what I wanted to. I knew Naruto wanted to take Sasuke out on his own, but this was the next best thing. And besides…I wanted to punch his face in for my own reasons to.

Even though it was my intention to sabotage Sasuke's attack on my friend, if he hadn't tempted me, if he just let Naruto be I could have avoided being the one everyone in my class would hate for interfering, they didn't understand, all they cared about was seeing the pretty boy Sasuke come out on top.

Well now, let's see how they feel about their idol having a few broken bones…and a smashed in face.

"Are you both ready?" the Hokage called, interrupting my brooding.

"Ready." Sasuke and I both said in unison.

"Ok then…begi-!"

The pain was quick but agonizing as I felt Sasuke's fist dig into my stomach. I could only let out a surprised gasp before falling to my knees. I didn't even have time to catch my breath again before Sasuke's foot connected with my chest, sending me flying into the air, hitting the rooftop again hard.

Sasuke then took off in a dead sprint; I only had time to get halfway up when his knee connected with the side of my face, knocking me into the air and giving Sasuke the perfect vantage point to grab me by the scruff of my collar and through me back down hard.

Sasuke beamed wildly as he looked down on me. I could feel the taste of blood in my mouth and feel its warm stickiness dribble from my mouth. The force of the throw had knocked the wind out of me before I could even completely catch my breath from when he knocked it out the first time.

"Had enough?" he taunted, he then rose his foot into the air and proceeded to smash it into my body, but I was ready for him this time, and throwing up one of my arms an explosion of my friends erupted from my sleeve, nailing the bottom of Sasuke's foot and sending him flying into the air, falling back down roughly a few feet away from me.

With a grunt I slowly rose back to my feet, doing my best to ignore the new pains racking my body. Sasuke seemed to already be doing the same. I had to admit, he was fast, and there was no hope of me keeping up with him in the state I was in now.

Thankfully though…Shibi made sure I wasn't completely talent less before I entered the Academy. I didn't have to use much of my willpower to summon my friends again; the rest were itching for the fight the moment I stepped into the Hokage's office. Most just swarmed on or around my body, but I entrusted several pacts of them to group around my joints, writst, ankles, neck, elbows, whatever required me to be swifter…

I had just finished with my knees when Sasuke was upon me again. He was too swift for my eyes alone to keep up with, but my friends sensed his actions from a mile away. Pulling at my knees, my friends helped work my body out of Sasuke's reaches, allowing me to smoothly dodge around his attack.

Sasuke landed roughly on his feet, slightly thrown off by my sudden ability to dodge him. But he quickly recovered, jumping at me again with his fist thrown back. My insects moved me once again, his fist sinking into air where my body had been a second ago; with a swift turn he desperately kicked his leg out at me, with a quick jerk my friends pulled down hard on my knees, making me duck to avoid his kick. Then using my own senses I placed my palms onto the floor and kicked out with my legs, using the speed and power of the bugs attached to them, Sasuke quickly pulled up his arm to block the blow, he succeeded by a mere moment, but the force of the strike still sent him skidding back several feet.

Sasuke quickly recovered from his set-back again. Leaping into the air as soon as he halted, I trained my eyes on his form, the sun reflecting off my glasses kept me from being blinded by him having the sun on his back. With great speed Sasuke fell back down in my direction. This time it was yet another kick my friends helped me block, but instead of letting his leg fall I grabbed it with my free hand, this was it now, I would have him trapped. This didn't seem to deter Sasuke however as he threw a punch at my face while I held his leg, I was thankfully in the perfect angle to grab his fist with the arm I used to block his kick. Yet the Uchiha boy was still far from done, using his last leg he sent it sailing in my direction, I was too slow to do anything, but the beetles that controlled the arm that was holding his fist managed to pull it up in time to block the kick as well.

Now I was sure I had him, all I had to do was hold him in place while my friends did the re-.

Another surprising painful blow shook my frame as Sasuke's last limb dug itself back into my gut. I let out a similar gasp of air but I didn't fall again. Instead acting on pure instinct I sent a swarm of my friends that were flying around me into the space of air that was between us, soaring into Sasuke's body and forcing us to separate before the Uchiha could do me anymore harm. The blow was too blunt however and Sasuke managed to move out of its way after it had pushed him back several feet.

He then began charging me again. His attack was relentless and I began to feel the strain on my body and mind. This was enough, it was time to end this, my friends and I were on the same page again, it was time to make Sasuke pay for harming Naruto. So when Sasuke sent another fist in my direction we were all ready for it.

Instead of dodging my insects and I worked my arm and hand up too fast for Sasuke to pull back, his fist connected harmlessly with the palm of my hand. I quickly summoned more of my beetles to group up around my fingers, making sure it was a tight hold as they closed around Sasuke's fist. Now I had him.

"Let go!" Sasuke ordered fiercely, tugging at his trapped arm, he then sent his free fist into me, only to have it trapped by my other hand, its fingers already well supplied with my friends' strength. Now Sasuke was finished.

Working quickly I commanded my friends to crawl from my arms onto Sasuke's body. Ever since I learned what my clan was specialized for I always secretly pondered/worried about what it would be like my first time, when I would command my insects to devour another shinobi's chakra. Would I be able to?

I was both surprised and relived that it was going to be as easy as this.

"What…what are you doing?" Sasuke asked, and finally I could see it, the fear in his eyes, the same fear he made my friend Naruto go through, this was it, my victory, my win, he was not going to escape me.

"I am ending this fight, Sasuke," I explained simply, no matter how much emotion was building up inside of me I wasn't going to let _him _know, "My friends are devouring your chakra, soon you will have no strength left to fight."

"No! I won't let you do this!" Sasuke declared fighting savagely now, but it was already too late, my friends were already swarming up his body, sucking up his chakra as I held him, his struggling was growing weaker and weaker.

Finally Sasuke looked close to collapsing, his eyes were beginning to droop and his knees were shaking badly. Try as I might I couldn't help but suddenly pity the boy, the pity was quickly sponging up my anger. As it did my head began to clear a little and I was looking at the frightened, weary boy, _really _looking, he was just a young arrogant either year old out to settle a meager revenge for having been embarrassed in front of his classmates, and then I looked at myself…was this what I had reduced myself to? I was torturing this boy for my own selfish reasons…

"Surrender," I instructed Sasuke, though still not releasing my grip of his fists, "Give in now and I shall relinquish my bugs from you."

"Never!" Sasuke spat, his face, although worn out, took on a quick, drastic form of rage, "I'm not going to let you dishonor me again, I will beat you, I won't become the mockery of my clan, I will live up to my father's expectations…I won't be a failure to him…do you hear me!? I will be recognized as his son!"

There was no time to react, not time to think. In an instant Sasuke's eyes flashed red, and it was all he needed, with sudden agile and grace, Sasuke lifted his feet into the air and sent them both into a bone-crushing blow against my chest. I was thrown off him and sent sprawling to the ground again, rolling several feet into its rough surface until I stopped. Yet when I did I was lying on my side, staring at the wobbling boy, neither believing what I just heard and saw.

"You may be draining my chakra!" Sasuke called, and as he did this he was making very swift hand signs, _hand signs?_, none of the students in my class were supposed to be able to use ninjutsu, at such a young age our chakra isn't nearly that developed… "But I still have enough in me to finish you off!"

I could only stare, was he bluffing? Was he trying to get me to surrender now? Many of my friends were still crawling around his body; still devouring his chakra…there was no way…

"Horse!" Sasuke cried out finishing up his hand signs, "Tiger!"

He then sucked in a deep breath, his hands still clasped together, and in that instant I realized this was no joke. Sasuke was going to use ninjutsu; he was going to use-.

"**Fire Style! Fireball technique!" **

He then released the attack, and despite being weakened, despite being only eight years old it worked. The fire ball erupted in an instant engulfing my world in its painful burning heat…

XXXXXX

…………_._

No one could explain why it happened. Not even the boy himself. To go into his perspective would only cloud the mind in even more confusion. He had plans, very big plans, for his future, plans that could save the very village of Konoha from utter destruction. So why did he do it, why risk his life for another?

His only explanation would be that his body moved on its own.

He saw the younger boy, life in peril, and his body instinctively acted on it. There was no hidden meaning behind this; there was only he and the boy he apparently wanted to save. There would be no going back to this, even now as he lay on the hospital bed with his fellow shinobi surrounding him he knew his life as one among them was over. Not that he cared.

Yet what truly bothered him was that he could not be free of the disgraces the way he desired to, the way the village wanted him to. He had been quick enough to save the boy from the fire, and even escape with his own life, though now he wished he hadn't achieved the later.

The fire had burned a great portion of his body. Yet that was meager, in time he could get his skin healed by an elite medical ninja, when that was healed he could of gone on to fulfill his purpose and be a true savior for Konoha, but unfortunately, life was not that kind.

For what couldn't be fixed were his eyes.

The fire had blinded him, it had been too powerful, too bright, and too hot, who knew his younger brother could produce such an astounding attack at such a young age, no doubt their father had something to do with it. Itachi knew he should congratulate his brother next time he had the chance...if he ever would get the chance.

In time his fellow Uchiha left him, even without his eyes he knew they were glad to. Itachi also knew his father and brother were not there with them. From his overhearing of the nurses he knew his father had long since washed his hands of him, to risk your life to help another and then in turn loose your sacred Sharingan eyes was apparently not son material to the man, and his younger brother was too much in pieces to do or say anything coherent. Itachi knew that if anyone, it would be his brother he would miss the most.

As the banished Uchiha drifted more and more into his thoughts, the dark world around him allowing him no distraction otherwise, he began to contemplate where his life would go now. He had no clan, he had no eyes, and he had no purpose, the Uchiha clan would continue to exist, untouched, until their eventual civil war would tear the village in half. Itachi had to be honest with himself, taking his own life didn't sound to unappealing.

Yet before he could divulge any further into his inner darkness there was a slight rap at the door.

"Come… in," Itachi called softly, the heat and smoke that had once plagued his lungs still forced him to breath irregularly and hurt when he talked. The nurse slowly opened the door.

"You have visitors Mr. Uchiha," The nurse called, but due to Itachi's blindness he could neither take notice of her or the people crowded behind her.

"I'm…not….interested," Itachi wheezed, turning his face to the window, the nurse couldn't help but smile, knowing who her patient thought his visitors were.

"They are not Uchiha's." She explained, opening the door wider to allow Aburame Shibi, Amarante, and Shino to enter the room.

XXXXXX

_A few hours earlier…_

_Aburame Shino_

We all walked in silence now. Even my mother who had been barraging my father with questions up until now. I don't know why she did, she already knew why we were going to the Hokage's office, and by accompanying us she had agreed (although maybe a tad bit reluctantly) with what we were trying to do. I couldn't be skeptical about it though, not even slightly, maybe a week ago before he saved my life, but not now, not ever again.

The burn on my shoulder still hurt, my mother told me it would be wise not to put any amount of clothing on it, but we both knew that was impossible. I just had to suffer with it; this never bothered me, considering that someone else was suffering hundreds of times worse because of me.

Many people watched us and occasionally whispered to one another as we passed by. My father had warned us both that this was to be expected. It's not everyday that mere eight year old boy would cause both the total shame of a clan and then cause them to disown their most elite of shinobi, especially not a clan with such a reputation as the Uchiha, and in less than two weeks. I didn't let it get to me as bad as I could have if I was alone. I was with my father, a man who was close to the Hokage and a man who, when determined to do something, will stop at nothing to see it done.

And I was determined too. He was not going to just suffer because of me, he had lost everything by saving me, and this was the most I could do to pay him back for now. No matter what I knew my father and I will stop at nothing to see this accomplished. Itachi, we will set things straight, I promise.

XXXXXX

"Shibi are…are you certain about this?" the Hokage asked as the three of us stood before him, "You must admit this is a strange request coming from you…"

"I assure you, Hokage sir, I have never been more certain," my father insisted, "That boy saved my son's life, we of the Aburame clan do not take such self- sacrifices lightly, especially not with the dire consequences that he has been given."

"I know that you mean well, old friend," Hokage replied, folding his hands on his desk, "But this is a sensitive matter, Itachi does not speak often and we have no idea what troubles could be going on in his mind at this moment, to just dispatch him from the hospital so soon could prove to be fatal."

"Shibi…maybe we should heed what the Hokage is saying…" my mother softly tried to coax, but I knew my father would hear none of it, he had been expecting this just as I had.

"I would see to it that he is well looked after," my father explained, "the Aburame clan is well known for our medicines and healing jutsus, though I do not expect the boy to leave the hospital this very day, we shall give him time to recover before he fully accepts the offer."

"You should not assume that a boy like that will accept it," the Hokage informed with a slight smile playing on his lips, though my father simply shook his head.

You misunderstand me, Hokage," my father spoke, and over the many years I knew him, his face, his habits, his actions, I would beat my life that he was smiling as well, "I do not intend to take no for an answer."

XXXXXX

The meeting that followed wasn't long, though it would end up changing the lives of many people, including mine. The Uchiha's wanted nothing more to with their prized shinobi and all because his father declared him unworthy, and for of what, saving me? No it was much more selfish, Fugaku was already disgraced enough from Sasuke, and to have a son who both interfered in a sparring match and lost his Sharingan in the same instance was obviously too much for him to bare.

Every Uchiha in the secret meeting adopted the man's ill feelings. Taking every chance they could to shoot my father and me ugly glares. The only one that didn't, ironically enough, was the boy who had basically helped start all this mess. Though I'm sure he would of liked to if he was in any state of mind to actually act on it.

Sasuke was silent during the whole process, dark eyes downcast and small hands folded in his lap. He didn't acknowledge anyone or even glance up when his father made the agreement with my father. To me he looked like a broken butterfly wing that had no help to ever re-grow and fly again.

I didn't know what to say to him, I wanted to continue to hate him, which would normally be easy considering he almost killed me, but I was sick of hatred. It in no way helped anyone, not even myself, in fact by agreeing to fighting with Sasuke made me just as guilty as him for what happened to Itachi. I had slipped, again, but now I wasn't the only one paying the price.

The short meeting was adjourned and all the Uchiha's left, though none bothered to even glance at us this time, except for the one unexpected exception. Sasuke glanced over at me as he trailed behind his father, and in his eyes there was no longer even a trace of the hatred I was so used to seeing. In fact the boys sad eyes dimly brightened as he gave me a small smile, probably the first nice thing I had ever see him do for anyone and then he mouthed out his silent words before leaving…

_Please, take good care of him…._

XXXXXX

Now we were here. My father, mother, and me all standing around Itachi's bed. The boy's body was almost entirely wrapped in bandages, everything looked completely painful for him, but it was the bandage covering his eyes that caused me to wince from past memories, I hoped I would never make another person go through such a thing again.

"Aburame…why?" Itachi gasped, I felt my heart beat achingly at each word Itachi struggled to pronounce, I did not know if he would ever fully recover and I was far too afraid to ask.

"I'm sure you know most of what has already transpired," my father said, "We have talked with the Hokage and Uchihas, and an agreement has been made."

My mother remained silent as my father spoke, though I could see that she was very uncomfortable about all of this. She and my father had a bit of a strange argument before we had begun all this, apparently my father and Itachi had fought the night before my spar with Sasuke, which explained why she had acted so weird that morning. She was highly against allowing such a thing to come to pass with Itachi, but my father was stubborn and eventually she did have to concede, after all he was head of the clan…

Though even through the uncomfortable ness I could see the worry and sadness in her eyes. Despite all she had against the boy she could not escape the fact that he had risked his life to save her only son, and I knew eventually that would outweigh any doubts she could receive.

"What…sort of….agreement?" Itachi asked, and in his soft speech I could hear a faint wisp of wariness.

"Your father has washed his hands of you; Uchiha Itachi, and I Aburame Shibi, leader of the Aburame clan have decided to adopt you into our ranks as one of our own, in gratitude for risking your life for the life of my son, Shino."

Itachi remained silent for the longest time, more than likely absorbing the sudden, life changing information he had just received, but when he did finally speak it wasn't what I was expecting.

"Is…Shino…here?" he asked quietly, I felt cold chills run down my spine. Even though Itachi had intentionally saved my life I couldn't help but worry what he thought of me now, surely he wasn't expecting to loose his eyes and have his whole life ruined because of me…

"Yes, he is here with me," my father answered, pushing me towards Itachi's bed, "And I do believe he owes you a great deal of gratitude."

Very slowly I walked until I was right beside Itachi; he looked over at me with bandaged eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips, "Hello,"

"Itachi…I…just wanted to…" But I couldn't say it and my eyes fell to the floor, just saying the two simple words didn't seem even close to make up for saving my life, _nothing_ could make up for it, but I couldn't just not say it either, "…Itachi…I…thank-you."

I still couldn't look at the man; Itachi chuckled softly before forcing me to. Placing two fingers on my forehead and nudging it slightly. I looked up to see his bandaged, smiling face. It would figure I'd see Itachi the happiest I'd ever see him when his face was almost entirely covered up.

"Hey, what are big brothers for?"

XXXXXXX

We walked back home with higher spirits, well at least I knew I did. People still stared and whispered and glared at us when we passed by but I found it much easier to ignore them than I had ever before. In just a months time Itachi would be moving into the Aburame clan. I had to admit I was both very excited and nervous, though I tried my best not to show it, it was already too late to hide the warm blush that had spread over my face when Itachi called himself my big brother.

"It'll be…interesting to have that boy around," my mother spoke up as we walked, apparently not satisfied with the silence my father and I were preferring.

"I can think of no greater honor," my father simply replied.

"I agree," I agreed.

My mother huffed irritatingly at us, her glare looking from my father's shaded eyes to mine. I did my best to keep my own focus straight on the road, not even daring to look back at her through the shades.

"You know I understand how you Aburame shinobi like to not do much talking, but surely you two can have a conversation with your own family? Especially after what just happened!"

"Amarante, please do not take it the wrong way," my father quickly replied, suddenly stopping and moving in front of my mother, causing her to stop as well, I halted too, completely confused about why we needed to stop, "You mean the world to both Shino and myself, it is not just how our clan acts but how our personalities work, we both are going over what has happened in our heads, later tonight, if you wish to discuss openly, I promise I shall listen."

He was directly in front of my mother, and although I couldn't see his eyes, I knew he was looking right into her eyes; my mother seemed to know this as well as she soon blushed and looked away. I felt my own eyes leer, what exactly was going on?

"So…I mean the world to you now do I?" she asked without looking at him. My father didn't reply though, maybe he was sick of talking for today, or maybe there was nothing more to be said, whatever reason, he decided to place his finger's under his wife's chin and tilt her head so that she was in the perfect position for his lips to capture hers in a…a…kiss!?

"Oh, gross!" I whispered, unable to stop myself, I turned away from them quickly; this was _defiantly_ not what I saw coming…ever. I never asked, but I always assumed that my mother and father had an arranged marriage, where they didn't even meet each other until their wedding day, the way they always acted around each other made me guess that, but now…_this_….apparently I didn't know all the details of what was going on…

"Come, Shino," my father ordered bluntly as he passed me by, my mother having her arm wrapped around his. I almost laughed out loud when I saw them, my father's tall stiff frame still holding itself up-right as my mother cuddled into his side.

I managed to hold it back however, and by the tone of my father's voice I knew that was a wise choice, and as I followed the two unexpected love bugs, if I didn't know better, our pace seemed to have increased drastically from last time….

XXXXXX

Unfortunately nothing of interesting note happened between my mother and father's moment till we got home. Not saying I wasn't enjoying the sight of the two finally acting like a real husband and wife, especially with my father looking so uncomfortable, but after awhile it made me feel a little left out. My mother didn't even look at me after my father had kissed her, just kept her head snuggled into his shoulder, and the few times that I actually got a good look at her face it was always stained with a dark shade of red.

I tried not to let it get to me, but now I felt as though I was alone again and the continuous stares and whispers of the townsfolk began to get to me finally. They probably didn't even know Itachi was adopted yet…will all this attention never end!?

Far from it, it seemed.

We were approaching the gate that led into our estate. I was desperately looking forward to being back within its walls, away from all the people and their opinions, where I could be alone with just myself and my bug collection that I had just recently started.

In all my daydreaming I almost missed the three figures standing in front of the actual gate itself, almost.

"Heeeeeeeey Shiiiiiiinooooooo!" my blonde-haired friend, Uzumaki Naruto, called out, standing in the middle of the three, waving his arms ecstatically, to his left was Nara Shikamaru, arms folded and giving me a triumphant smile, knowing already how busted I was, and to Naruto's right was…

The Hyuuga girl!?

I felt my heart almost stop when I saw her small figure, why was she here? I had never even met her before… I soon decided I didn't care, I found that my heart felt as light as air, I was…happy to see her.

The feeling was confusing, sure I thought she was cute, but it wasn't as if I had spent any length of time with her, yet my body was acting like I had, as if I had been missing her and now that she was here a great, yet unnoticed, weight lifted from my body. Her index fingers were pressing nervously against each other, refusing to look up at me, but her eyes did seem to frequently stray to the left…

"Well, well what do we have here?" I heard my mother ask, interrupting my thought process with a jolt, and brining back to the serious problem I was about to have, the smile in her voice caused me to look over at her, and indeed there was a smile. A big, familiar, 'I caught you!' smile, she looked back at me, her smile was now threatening to split her face in two, "Friends of yours, my little popular konchuu?"

"He had told me he made one on his first day…but now I see he has three," my father looked over at me as well and I could feel my face heat up for the second time that day as my head sunk into my giant collar.

Once again, thank whatever higher power for the Aburame's style of clothing…

_**To Be Continued….**_


	7. The Formal Invitation: part 1

Tsk tsk, no reviews from my last chapter, and just when I was getting used to feedback from each installment, ah well, isn't going to stop me from continually updating, just nice to know how you guys think each chapter is holding up

**Just to apologize ahead of time, this chapter may seem short and bland compared to my last few installments but I will try to make the ones afterwards more so, just trying to bulk up some characters before divulging into a plot.**

**Hope everyone is still reading and enjoying!**

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 7: The Formal Invitation: part 1**_

XXXXXXXX

So many changes, my life was twisting in every direction besides the one that I was expecting. Before I started the Academy I would have never dreamed that all this could happen to a person like me, I had stood out in front of my class, enraged an entire clan, fought an Uchiha and then adopted an Uchiha…but most importantly I made three amazing friends.

Mother was unsurpassingly ecstatic about this last part.

_Nara Shikamaru-_

He was a quick annoyance to my mother, much to my hidden pleasure. His constant complaints always made her become overly frustrated but whenever she tried to argue with him his quick and intelligent retorts soon caused her to become too angry to even talk back.

The sole reason he was ever allowed to come over was because of my father. As soon as he realized Shikamaru was a regular player of _shogi _my father would make sure they challenged each other's wits at least once a day. Shikamaru always ended up winning but their prior battle was long and heated and when Shikamaru won he'd always tell my father that he made a troublesome opponent.

Whenever Shikamaru wasn't playing board games with my father we'd usually find ourselves on the rooftops of my clan's buildings or at his favorite spot, quietly watching the clouds and listening to the sounds of our village.

_Uzumaki Naruto-_

My hyperactive friend quickly found his place as my mother's personal food tester. He had fallen in love with her as soon as he learned her specialty was ramen. In turn my mother grew very fond of my friend, adoring his ever smiling, confident face, probably seeing some of herself in him.

I admit I grew jealous at times seeing Naruto treat my mother as if she was his own, but I would always think back to when he told Shikamaru and I about his past. Maybe he was finally seeing how it felt to have a mother…

Naruto soon began teaching me in the ways of "pranks". I admit I didn't even know of such an activity until my friend started to teach me. I was surprised to learn it was immensely fun to scare the villagers when my bugs would suddenly fly out of windows, doors, or some container they were opening. At the same time it was annoying when Naruto would then leap from our hiding spot and, while pointing at said frightened villager, call out: "Haha! You just got pranked by the masters that are Aburame Shino and Uzumaki Na-!" And that would usually be as far as he got before we were both forced to run when said villager began chasing us with a broom.

_Hyuuga Hinata-_

Hinata…that was the shy girl's name. Strange how I never heard that name before yet it seemed so familiar when she said it in her stuttering voice. In fact, a lot of things she did seemed immensely familiar to me but I was hopeless as to know why. Yet I still could not escape the strange new feeling that befell my heart whenever she visited…which wasn't very often…and usually accompanied by Naruto…

My father took great, while unexpected, interest in her. He would occasionally ask her about the Hyuuga clan and about her father. I learned a lot about Hinata simply from listening to them talk, for it seemed that whenever I tried to talk to her she would either stutter too much for me to understand or simply look to her feet…though I had the faintest of feelings that she only acted like that because Naruto was always there when I talked to her.

Another familiar, yet un-familiar, feeling of a sick stomach and a tightened heart always overcame me whenever I noticed Hinata looking over at Naruto or whenever she said his name, I couldn't place why I felt that way, only that I didn't like the feeling.

My mother thought Hinata was adorable, being so formal and shy at the same time. She once told me Hinata reminded her of me in some ways, and even though I should have been annoyed by such an aspect I still couldn't help but feel a small amount of happiness by being compared to the shy Hyuuga girl…

XXXXXXX

All in all life went on normally again after my parents and my friends made contact. Well, as normal as my life can get by now. Shikamaru, Naruto, and now Hinata hung out with me during recess, and whenever we went into group training we always paired with each other. Most of the other kids soon tooknotice of who my friends were and began singling them out as well, apparently the thoughts of Sasuke and I still fresh in their minds. Sasuke himself couldn't be bothered.

The Uchiha boy and I still never talked but he no longer gave me hate filled glares, yet neither did he look like he'd warm up to his usual cold cocky self anymore either. He looked constantly like a saddened lump, some of his posse tried to cheer him up but I knew it wouldn't help…only one person could help him, and that person was soon to become an Aburame.

During the month Itachi spent in the hospital I only visited him once or twice, despite the constant encouragement my father had been giving me to get to know him better. I still found it hard to get past both being nervous around such a famous and important shinobi and the even more overwhelming feeling in my gut whenever I looked at his bandaged eyes. He had sacrificed everything…_everything_ to save my life, and I didn't even know him that well. A simple "that's what big brothers are for," defiantly wouldn't suffice.

So I decided, during one of my first visits, to ask Itachi his reasoning behind saving me…

XXXXXXX

_Uchiha Itachi_

"Itachi…there's something I need to ask you," Shino mumbled, his voice taking on a strange edge to it, I turned my head in the boy's direction, if I could have given him a look it would have been puzzlement.

Our talking prior to this had been calm and casual, much like how our own personalities are. It didn't make for the most exciting of conversations, but I immediately decided that I could really use the relaxation the boy was providing. Ever since the incident my thoughts have been plagued by my own death, I still dearly desired it even after accepting the offer to join the Aburame clan, I would only be a burden to them, as I am to my clan now.

Though the Aburame didn't seem interested to talk anything about clans when he first showed up. He had blatantly informed me that he was here to learn more about myself; I had to explain to him that there wasn't much to tell, yet here we were, almost four hours later, still talking about my past experiences.

Until now, when the boy suddenly cut into my tale of besting three jounins at the same time while on a mission in the Rice country. And by his tone I could tell our next conversation would turn up a few notches.

"What do you wish to know, Shino?" I asked as neutrally as I could, no reason to let my deep curiosity show, that would only make him more hesitant.

"When I fought Sasuke two weeks ago…"

Is that how long it has been? Two weeks? It seems that it was only yesterday that I acted on foolish instinct and doomed both myself and the fate of Konoha…I quickly shook away my inner demons, focusing back on what Shino was saying.

"…and he used that jutsu…I thought I was going to die, it was too fast and unpredictable for my father and even the Hokage to foresee, yet you saw it and risked your life to save me…"

I waited as patiently as I could for Shino to finish, but he seemed to be struggling with the last, and obviously most important, part that was to be the question. The question I already knew he was going to ask. Finally, he let it out.

"Why…why did you risk everything to save me?"

There. The question. The same question I had been asking myself over and over again in my head. In truth I was as stumped as the one that I saved. Only hints and guesses clouded my mind, and they were the only thing I could use for an answer.

"I do not know why, Aburame Shino, I was watching your fight with my brother from the beginning with my Sharingan, so when I saw my brother performing the hand signs I instantly knew what he was planning and…maybe it was the realization itself, knowing I was the only one who could save you, but my body suddenly acted on its own, I felt it push into you and then instantly be consumed by the fire, that is all I know."

That was the best I could do for the boy. I couldn't see his expression but I could still guess that it wasn't the most satisfying of responses. But then I felt a soft warm pressure fall on top of my hands which were folded on my lap, immediately followed by the clenching of Shino's fingers as they wrapped around them.

"Whatever the reason, I thank you again and…I'm glad you survived and that you are to be joining the Aburame clan."

I couldn't control myself any longer. I felt myself smile slowly at Shino's blunt and honest statement, banishing my inner darkness for the moment. I may be useless as a shinobi…but maybe I could be important as something else…

Placing a hand on top of Shino's I nodded to the boy. "You are welcome, young Aburame, and I too am glad that I shall be joining your clan,"

He left shortly afterwards and I didn't see him but once or twice more before the month was over, but that suited me just fine. We were both of the same nature, only saying what needs to be said, during the next few visits he told me of his father's efforts to find skillful medical ninjas that were able to heal my burns, there have been a number of attempts, but so far they have only managed to heal the most minor of burns and fully grow back my hair.

It still made no difference to me whether they could heal any of my body, what will always matter to me was the same thing that I could never have again. My Sharingan is gone; I forced the thought into my head and made it stick there.

I was never going to be as powerful as I once was, just being a normal shinobi was going to be an obstacle, but I decided I was going to try; it was the only thing I knew how to do. I knew the Aburame's would be supportive and even assist me in my training, unlike my former clan of whose name I no longer wish to mention. That thought lightened my heart ever so slightly.

And in this time, my time of eternal darkness, even the slightest thing can turn the tides between life and death…

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shino _

The remaining weeks of the month seemed to drag by slowly after my friends and family blended in. I occasionally found myself drifting off during Academy training, pulling pranks with Naruto, playing _shogi_ with Shikamaru, ect. and thinking about Itachi becoming a part of my family.

Naruto and Shikamaru had conflicting opinions on the matter. On one hand Naruto finds the whole prospect exciting, believing that the legendary ninja would be able to show me (and my oh so close friends) all of his cool tricks and skills, oblivious to the fact that he was now as blind as a bat…

On the other hand Shikamaru is skeptical, thinking it could easily be a well devised trap for Itachi to learn all of our clan's secrets, explaining that the whole thing could have been set up for Itachi to make us believe him to be a self sacrificing hero so we would let him into our home while his family 'washed their hands of him'.

I had to admit it was a highly possible conclusion, but only a really powerful genjutsu could explain the doctors confirming him 100 blind and he not really being so. Plus I had talked to him myself, Itachi never struck me as one who would bother acting and he seemed truly sad for what has happened to him…I could only hope that I wasn't just being blinded myself by trusting him this much…

"Shino? Hey earth to Shino, are you out there?" Shikamaru's voice called, bringing me back to the game at once.

"Sorry," I mumbled, quickly moving one of the pieces in one space forward, I wasn't really focusing so I wasn't sure which piece it was, but I figured all the different types at least moved one forward.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he easily moved one of his pieces to knock out the one I had just moved, I not seeing that I moved my king in an easy position for him to win.

"You know I'm sorry to say this, but I think Naruto would be more of a challenge then you now," the lazy boy said with a grin.

Naruto picked up his head from the ground at this hopefully, but once the meaning of the sentence got through his head he shot Shikamaru a dirty look before letting his head fall back into the ground. Sitting next to him was Hinata who gave the now dozing boy a short blush filled stare before looking the other way. I felt my eyebrows furrow at this, she had been doing the same exact thing since the recess started.

"Hey Hinata," I began, surprising myself for actually starting the conversation, but not enough to stop, "Your from the Hyuuga clan, what is it like there?"

Hinata looked surprised as well, being that she hadn't really talked to any of us since joining our little group, but I could tell she looked happier then when she was sitting alone and staring at her feet. Her bush deepened when both Shikamaru and Naruto looked over to her as well.

"O-oh…umm…it's n-nice there…" the shy girl stuttered, pushing her index fingers together and staring in any direction besides the ones that involved looking at us.

"Really?" Shikamaru quirked, "I heard you guys have to be really formal and stuff there, sounds troublesome."

"I-its not b-bad...we s-sometimes h-have parties a-and-,"

"Parties!?" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet with an excited look in his eye as he gazed into Hinata, the girl looked to be frozen solid as she stared back, "Do ya'll really throw parties? I've never been to one before!"

It took a moment for Hinata to reply but eventually she managed to tear her eyes away from Naruto and focus on the ground as she replied, "Y-y-yes, f-f-father invites some of his f-friends and he lets m-me invite friends t-too, I j-j-just n-never had any…"

"We're your friends now aren't we?" Naruto quickly asked, gesturing to Shikamaru and me as he leaned in closer to Hinata, I felt my fingers clench as Hinata once again became transfixed in his close-up eyes, "You should invite us to your next party!"

"I don't know, wearing formal clothes sounds really troublesome…" Shikamaru grumbled but he went unnoticed by both Naruto and Hinata.

"C'mon Hinata! Pleeeeeeeease?" Naruto begged, now only inches from her face, giving her the biggest puppy dog look I had ever seen. Hinata could only stare back as her face turned the darkest shade of red possible and her mouth opened and closed but with no words coming out of them.

And there it was again, the familiar stabbing feeling in my heart, yet again I didn't have time to look into it when Hinata finally managed to produce a coherent answer.

"I-I-I-I g-g-guess s-s-s-o…" she stammered and as soon as it came out she was lifted off the ground with a small surprised gasp as Naruto wrapped his arms around her and began dancing around in that spot.

"YAAAAAY! Thank-you thank-you thank-you Hinata!!" Naruto cheered, still hugging Hinata against his body, "My first party! WOOO HOOO!"

"Umm, Naruto?" Shikamaru interrupted, pointing at the limp girl still in his arms, "Hinata?"

"Huh?" the oblivious boy asked, apparently unaware he still had the girl in his arms, he quickly released her, the lifeless body collapsing to the ground.

"Oh god!" Naruto wailed kneeling down next to her in an instant, as did Shikamaru and I, "I've killed her!"

After examining the fallen girl for a second Shikamaru sighed and justly thunked Naruto hardly on the head.

"Owwww! What was that for!?" the blonde shot, back on his feet in an instant, rubbing the red spot on his head.

"Don't be so troublesome," Shikamaru replied as he and I looked back at the blushing, smiling girl lying on the ground below us, "She is just unconscious…"

Why? Why does my heart hurt knowing this? And why does it feel like such a familiar feeling?

XXXXXXX

It took all through the rest of recess and halfway into the next class before Hinata finally awoke, but when she did she still seemed in a state of blushing bliss, completely unaware of Shikamaru's or my questions about her well being. Her eyes only staring at Naruto whenever he wasn't looking, just as I stared at her…

As we sat in that class I finally had to time to examine why my heart was acting so strangely. At times, as I watched Hinata watch Naruto, I felt it tighten to the point where I almost couldn't breathe and I had to look away. My friends weren't taking this too well either it seemed.

They were reacting to the way I was feeling. Whenever Hinata looked at me and I felt myself blush behind by beloved collar I could feel them squirm uncomfortably in my body as well, and now, when I felt this strange pain in my gut and heart I knew they were in pain too. I forced myself to look away from Hinata again, only this time I made sure I never looked back.

"Hey, Shino, you alright?" Shikamaru whispered from beside me, rubbing the sleep from his eyes being that he had just woken from his daily in-class nap, "You seem more tense than usual."

"It's nothing," I quickly assured, focusing my attention on Asuma as he drew different ambushing tactics on the board, out of the corner of my eye I could see him place a hand against his face and give me a knowing look.

"Uh huh," he said, yawning widely, "I'm sure, you know your about as good of a liar as Naruto is at beating me in-."

He was cut off however when a stray piece of white went zooming into his mouth, which was sadly wide open after that yawn. The tiny fragment looked to have stuck itself in his throat as Shikamaru's face quickly turned a shade of blue as he chocked on what could only be the terrible taste of chalk.

I quickly maneuvered myself behind him as he gripped his throat and pulled him up to his feet. Amidst the roar of the student's laughter I proceeded to give the poor boy the Heimlich maneuver, succeeding in freeing him from the life threatening chalk on my third squeeze.

Once Shikamaru caught his breath he quickly rounded on Asuma, "What in the world was that for, Asuma-sensei!?"

"Oh, umm, sorry about that Shikamaru…" Asuma muttered, rubbing the back of his neck with an embarrassed grin on his face, "I thought for sure you'd be still sleeping when I threw that…well, now you know no talking in my class!"

"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru replied as we both sat, but then continued under his breath, "Sheesh! Next time think of calling my name like a normal person first…"

XXXXXXX

The four of us walked together after training was over, as we did everyday. I knew already that the Hyuuga clan was a great distance from the Nara's or Aburame's but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she looked more than happy to be able to join us…but seeing as I didn't know where Naruto lived…and that she always veered off with him at the intersection…I could only imagine why.

"So, Hinata," Naruto began as soon as we left the Academy, "When is this party of yours gonna be?

"I-It sh-should be n-near the end of the m-month, I'll t-tell my f-father th-that I'll be br-bringing my fr-fr-fr…"

"Your friends!" Naruto finished and at Hinata's blush induced nod he started to get all excited again, to my immense relief it lacked having the Hyuuga in his arms, "I'm going to a party! I'm going to a party!!"

"Would you calm down already!?" Shikamaru scolded, pulling one of Naruto's spikes as he leaped by him, "We don't even know if we're going to be allowed into such a thing, especially if _you're _going to tag a long."

"Ow! Would you quit being so rough!?" Naruto scolded, rubbing his sore head again, "And what are you talking about?"

"A Hyuuga party isn't exactly like the kind of event you're fantasizing about, sorry to say, my dad has been to them once or twice and first thing, you can't be your hyper self and start jumping around and screaming your head off, there are a lot of rules and you need to follow all of them if you don't want to end up kicked to the curb, and by the looks of it you need a lot of work before you'll be even allowed to step through the front door."

Naruto's face seemed to fall farther and farther after each word that escaped Shikamaru's mouth and when he was done explaining Naruto stood there in a state of uncharacteristic depression before turning back to Hinata.

"Is it true Hinata? Does your party really have…rules?"

The Hyuuga girl slowly nodded and Naruto's head seemed to nearly sink to the ground.

"I-I'm s-sorry…" Hinata quickly apologized placing a tentative hand on the boy's sunken shoulder, I felt my heart skip a beat but I forced myself to ignore it, "M-my f-father's parties are v-very f-fo-formal, a-and he enforces th-the r-rules s-str-strickly…"

Naruto just stood there with his head bowed low and with Hinata's small hand resting comfortingly on his shoulder for a whole full minute before his face slowly rose. Imagine my surprise when I realized he was looking straight at me.

"Shino?" he called meagerly, as if having deep regrets about what he was going to ask.

"…yes?" I hesitantly replied, knowing I wasn't going to like what he was going to ask me. A slow smile crept over the boy's face.

"Will you teach me to be formal?"

XXXXXXX

**To Be Continued….**


	8. The Formal Invitation: part 2

Quick change of plans, this is going to be a three part chapter that's main focus is to build up some of the characters personalities and make them more three-dimensional

**Quick change of plans, this is going to be a three part chapter that's main focus is to build up some of the characters personalities and make them more three-dimensional. I promise I will try my best not to make it too boring!**

**Read and Enjoy**

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 8: The Formal Invitation: part 2**_

XXXXXXX

Quiet. Alone. Dark. The simple qualities of my room made it the place where I spent most of my time indoors. The low hum of my small insect collection relaxed my brain and body of the stress it had been building up as of late. With a deep sigh I closed my eyes behind my glasses and relaxed further into my own clothes.

With a new sense of calmness I divulged further into my little growing problem, one of its consequences could currently be heard over the drone of my collection, the sounds of clinking china and utensils breaking the calmness of it all.

I folded my hands on top of my belly as I thought, pondered, and worried over what I was meant to do. Truthfully I was stressing over nothing, but as seems to be custom with my new life I was experiencing yet another new kind of feeling.

One of not feeling good enough for the task, one of wishing I was better at it somehow, one of thinking I was going to fail my friend, one of…a low self-esteem?

But I didn't have that…did I?

No. Surely not the infamous Stoic Shino?

I've never been depended on before though…and when Naruto looked at me when he asked his eyes shone in that familiar confidence. Only then it was confidence in me, in my abilities to see that he will become a proper and formal gentleman for the approaching Hyuuga party…and if I failed….

But I am overreacting about this, it's not like I am entirely clueless about being polite, proper, and formal. An Aburame is the prime example of formality, next to a Hyuuga of course. My father had long ago taught me to be proper, heck; it was practically in our genes.

So it only makes sense that Naruto would depend on me to teach him. I slowly felt myself stand up as I thought this. Sure Hinata could just as easily even with her constant stuttering, but he chose me. Because we are closer, because he knows I can get the job done, there is no need for this…hesitation, I am Stoic Shino, I am the Formal Master, and I do not get _low self-esteem!_

"Shino!" A voice called, rapping on my door softly, "You little friend Naruto is here for the…_lessons."_

My mother giggled as she said the word, but I didn't quite catch it, my brain was already working at three times its normal pace, my stomach was doing back flips and my heart was pounding loudly.

"Just a second!" I called back softly before running a hand across my face, knocking my glasses askew. With a sigh I flopped down on the floor.

Get a grip Aburame Shino. You can do this, you can do this, you can do this.

"Hey, Shino, c'mon already! Let's get this over with!" I heard Naruto call from somewhere in the house, "I need to be as formal as possible if I want to succeed at my first ever party! I need you for this!"

With another weary sigh I stood back up and slowly made my way out of the room.

I so can't do this….

XXXXXXX

I hesitantly made my way through the corridors and hallways that lead to the growing sound of my mother's and Naruto's talking. As their voices grew louder I felt my heartbeat quicken, and try as I might no attempts at praising myself or trying to just feel confident seemed to work. Instead my overpowering feeling of being useless began to break me down further and further.

By the time I reached the kitchen I was beginning to think that this whole lesson would wind up with Naruto deserting me, and while I tried to kick back the foolish thought the insistent worries only kicked me back twice as hard.

"Finally! There you are Shino!" Naruto exclaimed as soon as I walked into the kitchen, he and my mother were standing next to the recently spruced up dining table with its newly bought white table cloth with colorful stitchings of different species of bugs with the Aburame's finest china resting properly in their places on top.

"Let's try to make this as fast as possible okay? I talked with Hinata earlier today and she said the next Hyuuga party is going to be by the end of this week!"

"So you only have a week to train Naruto to be formal?" My mother teased giving me a wink, "Good luck with that!"

While she was only joking I still couldn't help but feel my stomach sink as she basically voiced out my inner worries, I could feel my palms sweat inside my pockets.

"Hey, what's that supposed ta mean!?" Naruto shot, glaring daggers at my mother.

"Oh nothing, nothing," mother replied, waving a hand as she proceeded out of the room, "You two just have fun…_training." _ And with one final laugh she left the room, leaving Naruto and me alone.

Naruto glared at the door for several more seconds before turning his attention back to me, a big smile planted on his face now.

"Sooooo, what are going to practice first, eating fancy, how to dress fancy, how to say 'please' and 'thank-you'-?"

"We are going to practice how to properly introduce yourself at the door." I cut in, banishing my worries for the moment. Naruto's face fell.

"What!? There's actually a…a …_technique _to using the front door?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Of course, presenting yourself correctly is vital at that stage and can be the difference between someone letting you in, or leaving you standing by the street."

I knew I was speaking but to me it sounded more like my father's voice than my own, I was basically relaying him word for word as I instructed Naruto, my father's one year teaching of this when I was five seemed to have lodged itself into my sub consciousness, just waiting for the right moment for me to pass it down to someone else.

I allowed a small smile to unfold beneath my collar.

_I can do this, I can do this!_

"Now come, I will show you how to properly use the front door and then you shall practice it until you have it mastered."

"Fine," Naruto grumbled, his shoulders sinking once again, "At least knocking on a door won't take too long for me to learn…"

XXXXXX

Naruto and I quickly made our way through the long hallways, my blonde-haired friend eager to get the _'easy parts'_ over with. So we soon reached the front door and opened it, but we were certainly taken aback by what we saw on the other side.

"Greetings," my father announced as soon as we opened the door, earning a shriek of surprise from Naruto, which he chose to ignore as he bowed lowly, "My name is Aburame Shibi, of the Aburame clan, and I am here on the premises of the Aburame clan to beseech my wife and son to be let inside so to be included in their generous grace and hospitality."

My father rose to his full enormous height and extended a single hand before me, without hesitation I rested it on the palm of my left hand as I placed my right on top.

"I, Aburame Shino, welcome you, Aburame Shibi to the Aburame clan and am honored to have you here."

My father gently pulled his hand out of mine and bowed low once more, "Thank-you, Aburame Shino, I do here now swear to be both respectful and honorable to both your guests and your property."

"I accept you're swearing and wish you, Aburame Shibi, to have a pleasant stay during your time spent in the Aburame clan," I bowed back.

My father rose once again and walked past me and into the house without another word. Once he was gone I turned my attention to Naruto, who had long been passed the initial surprised terror and was now giving me a look between confused and amused.

"And…uh…what was that exactly?" he asked pointing a finger and moving it between me and the space where my father once stood.

"That," Shikamaru spoke up stepping into the doorway with a slight grin on his face, "Was the Stoic and Troublesome Useless Passageway Into Door…or STUPID for short."

XXXXXX

Naruto, Shikamaru, and I practiced STUPID well into the day. With me acting as the honorable host who opens the door and welcomes Naruto in, Naruto acting as an (in progress) respectful guest who asks to be let in, and Shikamaru acting as himself who bops Naruto on the head whenever he screws up and tells him what he did wrong, which sadly has been a lot.

"Ow ow ow ow!" Naruto declared as he rubbed his head and jumped from one foot to the other, "Would you quit that!? You hit an already hitten part that time!"

"Well you need to learn that _hugging_ isn't the best way to thank someone when they invite you in," Shikamaru scolded, shaking his sore hand, "I promise you, any kind of physical contact besides the whole lame hand holding thing will get you thrown out here quicker than you can say 'believe it!'"

"'Believe it' huh…" Naruto mused as he rubbed his chin in thought, a slow smile spread across his face, "Hey I like that! Believe it...yeah I can do this formal front door thing no sweat…BELIEVE IT!"

Shikamaru and I stood there in silence for a brief moment, and from my position in the doorway I swear I could feel a breeze blow through us as a tumbleweed rolled somewhere in the distance.

"Naruto…I swear to whatever higher power is up there…if you say…that phrase…one more time…I will not only hit you on the head I shall also learn my family's technique today, no matter how troublesome it may be, and use it on you so many times you won't know how to say 'Believe it' unless some one asks you 'Hey, did you get your ass handled by Nara Shikamaru?'"

"Okay Okay I won't say it no more!" Naruto assured, holding his hands up defensively.

"_Anymore!"_ Shikamaru corrected, "It's I won't say it _anymore!_ If you hope to even step one foot inside that Hyuuga party you'd better learn proper grammar right here, RIGHT NOW!"

"Sure, right, I'll learn to talk properly, believe i-!" the poor boy tried to cut himself off but the damage was done.

With raging eyes Shikamaru leapt at the defenseless boy, "THAT'S IT, COME HERE YOU!"

"AHHHH HELP HELP AMARANTE, SHIKAMARU'S GONE CRAZY!" Naruto cried out as he raced past me and into the house, slamming the door behind him which in turn knocked me from my position and into the ground.

With a sigh I quickly stood up to see Shikamaru standing still in the same position that he landed in, and he was staring down at his risen hands.

"Shikamaru…" I called softly, taking careful steps towards him, "Are you alright?"

"Good Lord," Shikamaru breathed looking up at me and causing me to freeze, his face was pure horror and astonishment, "I've become my mother!"

XXXXXXX

Shikamaru left shortly afterwards, mumbling about something that involved discussing certain events with his dear old friends that live up in the sky. I bid him a farewell nod before walking back into my home, the setting sun warm on my back.

I entered the house to the sweet smell of BBQ ramen hanging in the air. I felt my stomach grumble and groan, reminding me of its previous neglect while I stood in the doorway training Naruto for hours and hours. With a pained stomach I hurried into the kitchen.

"Yo, Shino!" Naruto greeted from the table as he slurped up a bowl of the delectable noodles.

"Hello, Naruto," I replied, slightly confused as to why my friend was still here, none of them usually stayed until well before sun down.

"I hope you don't mind if your little friend stays the night," my mother quickly explained standing up from her spot to kneel down beside me and while Naruto continued with his dinner she spoke in a hushed tone, "Shino, do you know where Naruto's mother and father are right now?"

I gave my mother a perplexed look, "His…parents?"

I quickly realized that I had forgotten to mention to my own parents that Naruto had none, and now that the topic had been suddenly forced upon me I did not know whether telling them was a good idea. Did Naruto want to keep the fact he was an orphan a secret? It seemed likely, given his outward appearance it looked more like he'd want to hide away such a tragedy and not want it shared with the world.

"The parents are deceased," my father said suddenly right beside my mother and I, "You were not here during the time Amarante but that boy is…"

He then looked over at me before turning back to his wife, "Forgive me, but I feel it best not to discuss this in front of you, young Shino, I fear I may have already said too much."

And without another word my father stalked off to join Naruto at the table, the young boy currently still chowing down on his dinner, completely oblivious to the private discussion mere feet from him. My mother looked from me to my father several times before quietly joining the two at the table.

I however remained where I was standing, digesting what I had just been told. I didn't remain there long, so as to not draw attention, but as I slowly made my way to the table as well I couldn't help but steal several glances at my now mysterious jokester as a friend.

The way my father spoke…Naruto did more than just lose his parents, something else happened and it seems that his parents are connected to it…but what?

"Hey, Shino, pass the soy sauce will you?" Naruto asked extending his arm and smiling, the remains of a stray noodle hanging from the corner of his lip.

Was he holding in something more than just the loss of his parents?

XXXXXXX

"Wooow Shino! This is your room?" Naruto exclaimed as he turned around in place in the center of it, "It's so huge! It's bigger than my whole apartment room!"

"Really?" I asked, blushing in shame, I looked around myself, my room _was_ big with its giant windows, walls lined with vines, flowers, and even several small trees, my growing collection of insects were currently making their music and relaxing in their home.

On my far wall lined several bookcases filled with books about all the insects of Konoha, as well as cages that held some of my more poisonous and deadly collections. I guess I never realized how massive it really was until I saw the reaction of someone else.

"Yeah! It's like a miniature forest in here!" my friend declared as he sat down on the soft grass that was my floor. I almost chuckled as I sat down beside him. He should see our actual forest!

Naruto and I sat there for a good while both with our eyes closed and our ears trained on the sounds all around us. How do I know this? Because I peeked over at Naruto, thoughts of his past still riddling my brain, and saw that his lids were indeed closed and a light smile was playing on his face as his head tilted back with sounds of my collection filling his senses.

"Hey…Naruto?" I asked softly, trying not to notice that I was the one who cut into the peaceful silence of the event, "Do you ever wonder what your parents were like?"

"My parents?" Naruto quirked saying the word as if it was foreign to him, his eyes slowly opened as he turned to me, he then cocked his head, "No…not really."

He then seemed lost in thought for the span of a second before his signature grin spread over his face and he suddenly leapt to his feet.

"But I betcha they were super important! Like the most powerful ninja in the entire village! It would explain how they managed to bring up such an amazing shinobi such as myself!"

"Maybe I shouldn't have bothered asking…" I mumbled to myself as I shook my head and closed my eyes once more.

"But they had to be something important…ya know?" Naruto continued, his strange mellowed out tone forced my eyes open again, and when I turned to my friend I saw that his eyes were downcast and staring into nothingness, "The parents, the children, my teachers, the villagers, _everyone_ hates me, and I don't even remember doing something that bad in my entire life, so, since I don't know my parents that well it had to be something they did, right? It was most likely something bad that happened, something that everyone blames on me because of what my parents did…but whatever it was they were important people, and that thought…that thought keeps me going when I'm at my lowest."

I felt myself rise as Naruto said that for two reasons, for one picturing Naruto at any kind of low was an unthinkable thought…almost a scary thought. For two…as the boy said it I could have sworn I heard an unmistakable strain in his voice, and true enough, when I looked over at him his shoulders were slightly shaking and his head was bowed in an attempt to hide the escaping agony.

"I...s-still miss them…I m-miss them s-so much…and I d-don't even kn-know them…I'll n-never know them…"

I stood there, feeling as helpless for my friend as I did when he asked me to train him to be formal. Only then he had a smile on his face and my feelings were minor, now he was asking me with silent tears, and my own agony was tearing me apart.

With a choked sob Naruto suddenly tried to move his feet, he was clearly in no state of movement and as soon as he took one step he stumbled and began to fall. I acted on instinct as I ran up from behind Naruto and grabbed him around his middle, but what was instinct became something else, something I had never fully done before.

Compassion.

"Do not say that _everyone _hates you, my friend," I ordered into his ear as I held him, "The Hokage does not hate you, my mother does not hate you, my father does not hate you, Shikamaru does not hate you, Hinata does not hate you, and I do not hate you."

I felt Naruto stiffen, suddenly aware that he was in my arms; I fought against my own uncomfortable ness, refusing to release my friend until he stopped his uncharacteristic crying. No more sadness, no more tears, Naruto is happy, happy is Naruto, never worrying, never depressed, ever caring, ever confident.

As I held my friend I felt his arms wrap themselves backwards around me and I felt him loosen up again, as well as hear his sniffle.

We stayed in that position for a very long time, I do not know exactly how long only that my legs and feet were falling asleep by the time Naruto released me. I returned the favor and we both flopped to the grassy ground.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a very long time after that, one that I had no intention of breaking. Not with our eyes closed this time however but just staring into space. My room had taken on a cool blue color with the moon's glow reflecting through my giant windows, the various species of my insects still producing their harmonious music.

After a time Naruto looked over at me, a playful smile on his lips now.

"You know, I just remembered, you never got the chance to tell us more about yourself that time at the Academy when Shikamaru asked you,"

I looked back over to my friend warily, "And?"

"And, well, I think now is a good a time as ever to start telling!"

I let out a quiet sigh as Naruto turned his sitting body in my direction, his blue eyes as eager as ever, I knew there was no way out of this one, "Well, what would you like to know?"

"Hmmm," Naruto pondered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully again, it only took him a few moments before he thought of a question, "Is there something wrong with your doorbell? Whenever I rung it during training it never made a noise but you still managed to answer it as soon as I pulled the rope."

I looked over at Naruto feeling a tad bit deflated, "That's your first question?"

My friend didn't say anything in reply, only nodded his head vigorously as he leaned in closer waiting for my answer. I slowly turned my body in his direction so that we were now facing one another.

"Well as you know we Aburame's enjoy our peace and solitude and a doorbell is an extremely unwanted and obnoxious noise to us as well as to our insect comrades, so when this building was made our ancestors placed a jutsu on the doorbell that, when rung, would produce a soft sound only heard by our inner comrades and they will alert us as such."

Naruto remained silent and just nodded, taking in the information, he then opened his mouth and instead of an expected comment he just plowed on with his next question.

"And speaking of you Aburame's why do yall wear those big collared jackets and sunglasses all the time? I mean you guys look pretty silly hiding your entire face like that,"

I gave Naruto a glare that I knew he wouldn't catch, "We do not dress this way to try to appear fashionable, it is vital to help assist us with shielding our emotions, which are dangerous things to have in the ninja life."

Naruto was quiet at this for a few moments but still he did not make any comments and only continued with his questions, which turned up to lead from anywhere to how Aburame's express their love to what species of bugs made the foulest stench.

We sat in that position well into the night as Naruto asked questions and I answered, no comments, no remarks, just questions and answers. During the middle of it I took notice that my friend was avoiding asking me personal questions about myself, I found this a strange notion, for my friend was known to be completely oblivious to other peoples feelings (ex. Hinata). I could only assume that his recent breakdown in front of me helped opened his eyes a little about who I was as a person.

"Soooooo, Shino, is there any one at the Academy that you like yet?" Naruto suddenly asked giving me a coy wink. I only stared back at him.

Okay maybe not so much…

XXXXXXX

The next morning Naruto was eager to finish off his STUPID training. He even skipped out on breakfast so that he'd be able to make me miss mine by dragging me outside. Thankfully my friend didn't need much more work, after only an hour of ringing doorbells, relaying speeches, and holding hands Uzumaki Naruto nailed the Stoic and Troublesome Useless Passageway Into Door.

"Yes!" Naruto declared, pumping a fist into the air after I had welcomed him inside, "I finally did it! My first party is now one step closer!"

"Don't get too excited," I cautioned, "We still have a ways to go before your ready."

"Hah! No sweat! Whatever is next I can handle it, so what is it, do I get to learn how to eat properly now?"

"No, now you must learn how to walk and communicate with the other guests,"

Saying that Naruto's mouth dropped to the floor would have been an understatement, "What!? Are you serious? I already know how to walk, watch!"

My friend then proceeded in stomping around on the ground in a circle while making waving motions to his feet, "See? And I can communicate just fine, why don't we just skip that part."

"No, Naruto," I said firmly, "A party like the Hyuuga's is the most formal thing you'll ever witness in our village, if you really want to go to this then you must learn every last aspect."

Naruto rubbed a frustrated hand down his face, "You know it might be easier if I just go to a NORMAL party…"

I couldn't help but give Naruto an amused look, "And since when did you ever do things the easy way?"

He looked over at me and a wide grin soon flashed across his face, "Never!" He then raced over to me and began pulling my arm indoors, "Now come on, teach me how to walk and talk…the fancy way!"

XXXXXXX

………_._

"Is everything ready?" a solid voice asked his two companions.

"Yes, the necessary poisons and weapons have been delivered, they are currently being tested for authenticity," one of the figures replied as they huddled in the dark.

"Are we certain we should go through with this?" the smaller of the three men asked meekly, "The Hyuugas are masters of weeding out deception, what if they discover our intentions?"

"There is no other alternative," the second man informed, "This is a once in a year opportunity that we can catch the Aburame's off guard, failure in achieving our goal will result in waiting another year without risk of a civil war."

"And besides, that Nine-tails brat is going to be with them," the first man said, his voice almost ringing with joy, "It will be like hitting two birds with one stone."

"Do not get over eager," the second man warned, "The Aburame's are our target, we have no need to kill anyone else."

The first man grumbled something but said nothing further, until the third man spoke up again.

"Wh-what if they bring Itachi with the-." He was silenced with a yelp however when the first man rushed at him and, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, pulled him off his feet.

"Do _not _say that name in my presence," he hissed, his glowing red eyes boring into the quivering man, "My only regret that I shall have in this mission is not being able to kill that boy with my own hands."

"Speaking of which, do we know when our assassin will strike?" the second man spoke up as he stared at the two men calmly, "I've already made the arrangements so that he won't be interrupted but it would be convenient to know the exact time."

With a sigh the first man released his smaller companion who dropped to the ground with a heavy thump and scurried back to his original spot.

"He will strike on the exact moment we do, and there will be no screw ups, three men will die, and with their deaths will come the secure position of Konoha's finest, together we shall be the ones who saved our village from utter destruction."

His subordinates nodded in agreement and they quickly parted, silently exiting the hidden meeting room in the floor. Two of the men jumped into the darkness as soon as they left the building, but the first man stayed staring up into the night sky as the full moon poured over his body like a blinding light.

Uchiha Fugaku smiled widely as the stared up into the night sky, relaying his speech in his own head.

"Three men will die…" Fugaku whispered to himself, "And before that night is over one bratty yellow-haired fox-demon will join them."

XXXXXXXX

**To Be Continued….**


	9. The Formal Invitation: part 3

How it Feels to Hatch

**To anyone still reading this, I apologize severely for taking so long with this chapter, the combination of power outages and just laziness kinda made it difficult to write. But I made this chapter extra long to try and make up for it! **

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 9: The Formal Invitation: part 3**_

XXXXXXX

I've lived a fairly short life. I've had my good days and my bad days, although from first glance you most likely wouldn't be able to tell. Unless you took the time to come visit me during the week before the Hyuuga party.

For if you did this you would find my time completely devoted to teaching someone to be polite and formal for the occasion. And not just any kind of someone, but the most impolite, rude, and un-formal kind of someone this village has ever risen. This would make you, the viewer, the one able to see my frustration even through my shades and overly large collar.

"Shiiiiinoooooo…" Naruto whined for the millionth time that day as he turned to face me from the other end of the hallway, "I don't understand this!"

I sat on a simple wooden stool near the spot where he started his walk portion of the Walk and Talk exercise. I was sitting due to the extreme cramps that began forming on my leg muscles from standing up from the early morning till the dead of night watching my friend walk from one end of the hallway to the other.

"Shoulders up and back straight," I repeated for also the millionth time, "It is inappropriate to slouch while making your way through the Hyuuga's home, to do so is to disgrace the family and have yourself justly kicked out."

"But it's just walking!" He challenged once again, "People do it in they're sleep! Why would the Hyuuga's care if I'm just a little loose while I walk?"

"It doesn't matter _why_ they care, what matters is that you either do it or you get thrown out,"

"Gah!" Naruto cried out in frustration, pulling at his spikes, "You know Shino, sometimes you are impossible to reason with."

I simply shrugged before motioning with my finger for him to make his way back towards me, "Save the talk for when we practice it formally, now, once again, walk towards me as if you're striding through the Hyuuga estate with everyone watching."

With a sigh and a grumble Naruto obeyed, doing his best to keep his shoulders and back straight as he made his way down the hall. I watched him walk until he was near the middle of the hallway before shaking my head in disappointment.

"Oh what now!?" Naruto shot stopping in his tracks and folding his arms, "I was walking straight and everything that time!"

"You were swinging your arms too much, Naruto," I informed, I then stood up and straightened out my arms next to my sides, "When you walk with your feet your arms need to remain as still as possible, there is no need to animatedly swing them like you did."

"Ugh!" Naruto groaned flopping to the ground on his butt and the quickly laying down on his back afterwards, "You know it's not exactly easy for me to just do something such a different way when it's as simple as walking! The walk I do might not be "formal" but it's how I traveled for like my entire life!"

I walked next to my friend so he could see my face as I stood over him, "Well you will not break any habits lying down like that."

"But that's just the thing," my friend pointed out as he looked up at me, "What if this is one of those habits you just can't break?"

"Then if that is the case perhaps this situation requires a different answer," said a voice that was neither mine nor Naruto's.

"Father?" I questioned as I turned around to be confronted with none other than Senior Stoic Shibi himself.

"Lay still for a moment, Naruto," my father ordered, and whether Naruto truly wanted to oblige or not I would never find out, for an instant later my father lowered himself on his knees and, placing a hand on the wooden floor, he summoned his own insects, a small swarm quickly obeying.

The gathering crawled they're way across the floor and down Naruto's collar before the boy was even aware of what was going on. However, my friend was on his feet in an instant afterwards, jumping around and shrieking in fear…yet oddly enough he was also laughing as he was panicking.

My father slowly rose back to his feet and as soon as he did Naruto stopped jumping; in fact my friend stopped moving completely. He stood like an ANBU waiting for the inspection of the Hokage himself, legs pressed tightly together arms still and unmoving as they lay beside his sides, head held high and shoulder's straight.

I would have been impressed if it wasn't for his loud and obnoxious laughter.

"I have lined a number of my insects behind your arms and legs and down your spine; they will keep you straight and proper while under my control but at any other time you will be free to move as you please, these insects will remain on your body for the duration of this week and shall not be removed until the ending of the festives, any questions?"

"I-it t-t-ti-tickles!" Naruto spoke through fits of giggling.

"You will become used to that," my father stated simply before turning back around, "Now come Naruto, follow me to the kitchen."

My father did not move however, instead he turned his head so he was watching Naruto intently as the boy stood in place, trying his best to calm his laughter.

"O-okay," Naruto giggled before taking one quick step which led to his still straight leg to catch the wooden floor on his heel, pulling his body and smacking down backwards on the floor.

I rushed over to Naruto's side, expecting his familiar outcries of pain and anger, but instead my friend burst out in fits of hysteric laughter. My father's bugs tickling seemed to be overpowering everything else at the moment.

"Father…perhaps this isn't such a good idea," I offered as I helped Naruto off of the ground.

"Nonsense," my father replied, waving away my worries, "My insects, while under my control, will only concede to his movements if it is the proper thing to do, if he bends too early, they will keep him straight, if he tries to bend too late they will bend for him, it is the only way a child like him will learn."

"You're trying to kill me!" Naruto shot once I had him up of the ground, the bugs affect seemingly having less control over him as he pointed a finger at my father, the appendage, however, was quickly forced back into his side and once again he was standing in attention.

"It is rude to point, young Naruto," my father informed, turning his head away from us, "And the fact is that you shall be stuck with those insects until the Hyuuga gathering is complete and the simplest way to deal with them is to submit and learn to move properly."

My father then raised his hand and using his middle and index finger motioned Naruto over to him.

"Now again boy, follow me into the kitchen."

With clenched teeth Naruto slowly took his next step, but not before turning to me and with a hushed hiss pronounced:

"I like your dad better when he doesn't talk!"

XXXXXXX

And that was how most of the rest of the day was spent. My father led Naruto slowly around the house, his insects gradually affected the boy's skin less and less and as his laughing died down he was able to coordinate his movements much easier. He still fell down from time to time but he was able to bend his knees at almost every occurrence and soon enough he merely stumbled once or twice in each room until…

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" my friend cheered as he stood at the end of one of the servant's quarters with us, "I did it! I made it through an entire room without one screw up! I am the bomb!"

"Indeed," my father commented half-heartedly, "And just in time it seems."

Naruto and I gave him quizzical looks but my father did not reply. Instead he led us around a nearby corner to have us stand at the beginning of a very long and very familiar wooden hallway.

"This place again?" Naruto asked, squinting his eyes down the stretch of floor, "How'd we get here?"

The realization hit me well before Naruto; we had gone around the entire clan's encampment! And Naruto just finished a full walk through in the room right before…

I gave my father a sideways glance.

Did he intend to just keep doing this until Naruto learned? I could feel the stiffness affecting my legs heavily as we stood there, I really don't think I could have lasted another _room._ And Naruto, he has been doing most of the walk through this, along with my father's insects weighing him down both physically and mentally. Yet as the realization hit my friend to I knew he was far from tiring out.

"Awesome!" he cried out, pumping a fist into the air, temporarily free from my father's control, "This is it, my final test! If I get through this hallway without screwing up I'll pass the walking portion of this ridiculous training!"

"Correct," my father nodded before raising his hand which allowed him to take control of Naruto's body once again, making my friend stand straight and still in front of the hall, "But, as my son said before, this is the _walking _portion, save your breath, or will I have to place my insects inside your throat next?"

"N-no Mr. Shibi sir!"

"Then proceed."

Naruto turned his attention back down the hallway, his eyes determined and his body unmoving. My friend had the same steely, confident eyes I've grown to recognize but he seemed different somehow. It took me a moment to catch that his determination was now leaking out into his body, his stance was calm and centered, nothing like the usual jumpy and hyper movements I've come to distinguish Naruto by. It was like seeing him for the first time all over again.

And then Naruto made his way down the hallway.

His knees did not bend too early, nor did they bend too late. His arms were still and firm by his sides and his back was straight with shoulders squared evenly. All of his movements were perfect.

And even when he reached the end of the hallway he did not jump in joy, he did not throw his arms wildly in the air; he did not even declare his victory. All my friend did, when he knew he had completed another portion of formal training, was turn slowly toward us and give my father and me a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

"Father," I whispered as we made our way down the hall to join Naruto, who was still standing as unmoving as a statue as he waited, "Surely you can release your insects control on Naruto now, can't you?"

"I have already done so my son," my father replied, not looking back at me, his eyes ever trained on my unmoving friend, "Ever since we entered this room Naruto has been in complete control of his actions, he has completed this training all on his own."

I felt my eyes widen as I looked on to my father before turning my attention back to my friend, Naruto, the village's number one hyper-active child, standing quietly and patiently as he waited for us to join him. I then felt something else happen on my face that was even more surprising, it was yet another smile.

My father truly was a genius!

XXXXXXX

Naruto and I awoke early the next morning, despite us both being awake well into the night for Naruto's walking training and then even later when we were both in my room and my friend couldn't sleep because of how excited he was for the next part, which in turn kept me awake as he felt the need to talk about it.

I couldn't help but feel a little guilty that I was breaking the habit of awaking and sleeping with the sun, but it couldn't be helped. It seemed that my friend was going to be basically living here until his training is complete and I refused to succumb to my new found weakness of a low self-esteem, my friend still needed my help and I intended on giving it to him.

It also seemed that I wasn't going to be the only teacher anymore either…

"Naruto," my father spoke up as soon as we both left my room, scaring my friend yet again.

"Jeez!" Naruto breathed as soon as he could catch his breath, "Don't you ever think of knocking?"

My father chose to ignore him yet again.

"We have three days until the Hyuuga's gathering."

"I know!" my friend cut in, a big grin flashing across his face instantly, "I'm so excited, we really need to speed up this training so I know everything in time!"

"You misunderstand me, Naruto," my father continued, "We _only _have three days, and your progress of the formalities of a party has been slow as of late, I'm afraid you have no hope of mastering it all in time."

Naruto and I shared a glance.

"So what are you saying?" Naruto asked, angry now, "Am I not going to be able to go now?"

"Father," I quickly put in, "There must be some alternative, Naruto has been working as hard as he can for this."

"There is an alternative," my father stated, "But-."

He then turned his head so that he was facing Naruto, "I do not think it will be something you'll enjoy."

"I don't care; I'll do anything to go to that party!" Naruto quickly shot, "Bring it on!"

"Well this alternative involves more of my insects-."

"That's fine! My body is already used to their tickling-."

"Inside your head."

My friend was about to speak again until those words sunk in, he was then left with a hanging mouth, speechless. I spoke for him instead, just as surprised and confused as he looked.

"But…father, what do you mean by that? Do you intend to just place your bugs inside Naruto's skull?"

"That's exactly what I intend." My father replied without hesitation, "Three days is not enough time to fully teach Naruto before the end of the week, so our only alternative is to teach Naruto the very basic of everything he has to learn, then, when the day is upon us, I shall have my insects near Naruto's brain to be able to use them to instruct the boy on what to do and how to act on the things he could not practice."

Naruto and I remained silent as we stared as my father. I had to admit it was a good plan, a very good plan, but it seemed so immoral, so sneaky, so unlike Aburame Shibi. Naruto seemed to agree.

"Wow Mr. Aburame! So if you put your bugs in my head you'll be able to speak to me without anyone else hearing?"

At my father's nod my friend began ohing and ahing again and was even began mentioning that I should do that to him as well so we can talk during boring classes of the Academy (AN: which is currently closed for a week long vacation for some sort of holiday.)

"First off, Naruto, this Aburame form of communication is only one sided unless both users are of the Aburame clan, you shall be able to hear my thoughts but my insects will not be able to relay your brainwaves back to me and same would go with Shino if ever you two were to test it."

Naruto looked close to bursting into a fit, but right before I suspected him to crack my friend closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again he had calmed down significantly.

"Alright," he said with a stiff nod, "So when are you going to put them inside my head?"

"It's already been done," my father replied, suddenly turning around and walking away from us, "I placed them inside your head as you slept."

Naruto and I were about to follow after him until he made a strange noise. A noise so foreign to our ears we were both forced to halt in our steps as my father seemed to walk away even faster now. He did not. He could not.

Naruto and I turned our heads so we were looking at each other and then asked at the same exact time.

"Did he just _laugh_?_"_

XXXXXX

Aburame Shibi's method was kunai-proof; it didn't take long to teach Naruto all the basic mannerisms of talking politely and properly. Naruto absorbed all the different methods of how to talk to a man, woman, and child for each had to be spoken to differently.

We then told Naruto how to talk to a pairing of two of the three for those also required a completely different combination of looks and speech. My friend paid close attention, especially to the things that involved the women, for they took a lot more time to explain.

"Wow," Naruto breathed during the middle of the Abrurame clan's special list of '_The 100 Things Not to Do or Say to a Woman_,' "Why do girls have so many…_rules_?"

"It's both a way to keep a man in line and simply because they are a sensitive and fragile species," my father commented, "And we as men must obey and understand if we are to survive happily in this world."

"I may never fall in love then!" Naruto proclaimed. My father nodded, much to my surprise.

"You wouldn't be missing much."

"What was that dear?" My mother suddenly called from the kitchen.

"Nothing!" My father quickly called back, earning a snicker from Naruto and a disappointed shake of the head from me.

All in all the discussion took less than an hour and while Naruto continuously complained about his head hurting he also assured us that he knew what to do if a conversation arose. We all then had a speedy breakfast before quickly going back to the training at hand.

After the walking and talking training my father and I instructed Naruto on how to keep himself busy during the party. To hold doors open for other people, greet new guests, just to be polite and helpful to your fellow villager.

We continued to teach Naruto on the smaller tid bits of party mannerisms until we finally reached the most important and sensitive point of the Hyuuga party.

The dinner table.

XXXXXXX

_Itachi_

Silent. Strange how the permanent darkness seemed to make the sound of no noise seem hollower. It felt as if I was in an open, dark cave where even the smallest of noises would still echo vibrantly around me.

I suppose that would explain how I knew there was someone in my room before they could even speak.

"I have come here to warn you, Itachi," a man spoke, somewhere to my right, somewhere close, "In three days an assassin will try to kill you, do not let that happen."

I then heard the soft footsteps as the man began to make his exit.

"I miss you, Sasuke," I called softly, my brother had tried to disguise his voice but I knew it was him the moment I knew someone was in my room. "You might not think that, but I do, I miss you."

It was quiet for a long time and I was sure my brother had long left until I heard a just as soft voice call back.

"Good-bye, brother." And then I heard the shutting of a window and I knew he was gone for real that time.

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

"So, the fork thingie goes over here while the second spoon goes up here and this weird looking knife has to be way over on this side, and you only use this spoon for soup while that knife is only for cutting the softer things and your napkin needs to be in your lap during a certain time while you eat and you can't take too many sips from your drink at one time as well as-."

"Naruto, please, enough," my father insisted. We were all sitting at the dinning room table now; Naruto had a plate with an assortment of silverware around it.

From the windows I could see that it was starting to get close to sundown. I couldn't help but get a little ecstatic, maybe I'd be able to finally get on track with this sleeping thing. We had just finished the entire discussion of table and eating mannerisms, my father and I took turns but I still ended up with a sore throat.

"You do not need to memorize all that we have told you today," my father continued, "As I've said this is only the basics were teaching you, you are not expected to know them by heart for the party, I promise I shall instruct you on how to act as the moment arises."

"Okay," Naruto breathed sinking back in his seat; he then looked at my father and smiled happily, "I know I haven't said this yet but thank you, Mr. Aburame," He turned to me as well, "And you to Shino, what you guys are doing really means a lot."

My father nodded, "You are certainly welcome, Naruto," He then rose from his seat, "The sun is calling, I shall see you both in the morning."

He then left without another word, leaving Naruto and I in the dinning room. I sunk back in my seat to. As soon as Naruto thanked me I felt a great weight lift off my shoulders. I had done it, Naruto had put his trust in me and I did not fail him. The immense relief of it all scared me, was I actually this worried that I was going to fail?

"You know Shino, it's times like this that I envy Itachi," Naruto suddenly said, I quickly turned my attention to my friend to see that he wasn't really focused on me at all, he seemed to be staring into space.

"Why? Because he's blind?" I dared to joke.

"No," he replied before turning his attention back on me, a sad smile on his face, "Because he gets to be your brother."

XXXXXXX

The next day went by pretty uneventfully. The first few hours of the morning my father and I touched up on some of formality topics with Naruto before we were free. Well, free in Naruto's stand-point, I would have been more than happy to sit in my room that day or out in the woods to collect more bugs but Naruto felt he had a bit of catching up to do in the village itself.

Even though it had only been a few days I was still surprised and a tad bit hurt when I felt people's gazes on me as soon as we had exited the safety of my clan. Those same familiar eyes, none of them happy, none of them welcoming. They gave Naruto his fair share as well but he didn't seem as bothered by it.

The looks towards him, however, did remind me of my father's words when he talked to my mother about him. Something about who Naruto's parents were. I suddenly felt the need to ask my friend more about it but when I opened my mouth and spoke the only thing that came out was:

"So what do you need to do in the village?"

Smooth, Shino, real smooth.

"Well there's this ramen shop that I go to pretty much daily…" my friend replied, shooting me an embarrassed grin, "And, well, since I haven't been there in awhile I feel like I owe them."

"That's…nice of you," I offered, I would have offered something more intelligent but I was currently thinking on how to bring up the conversation of his parents for a second time.

In fact, I was so lost in thought that I didn't take notice of the burly man in front of us until I nearly bumped into him.

"Hey! Wash wur ur goin'," He hollered in a huskily drunk voice, he then gave me a double take, squinting at me through beady black eyes, "'oly shet if it ain't te clan killuh 'imshelf!"

"The what?" I asked even though I knew full well what he had just called me.

"Back off!" Naruto growled, stepping in between me and the drunken man. The two stared at each other until the man's eyes suddenly grew wide.

"I dun buhleve et!" He whooped, "Te Fox Dehmon ish here to, ish mah luhkee day!"

"What did you just call me?" Naruto asked angrily, now starting to walk towards the man. I reached out a hand to try and grab him when the man reached behind his back and pulled out a kunai blade, making us both halt in our tracks.

"All of de villuhgers wills luv meh aftuh thish!" He continued, now mostly to himself as he approached us, his knife held high, "Dey wills luv meh aftuh I kills you two!"

I couldn't move, only stare, as the drunken behemoth edged closer and closer to Naruto and I. My legs were shaking in fear but I couldn't urge them back, Naruto looked to be in the same state of terror. Too afraid to move, too afraid to save our own lives.

"You dies firsht dehmon!" He cried out lunging at Naruto, and finally my friend did move, he fell down on his butt and screamed and suddenly I felt my body fly. I leapt from my spot and landed directly in front of my fallen friend and in the path of the thrusted kunai.

I closed my eyes on instinct and waited for the fatal blow to fall. And I waited…and waited…and waited. I kept my eyes closed for a full 3 seconds before daring to open them.

Standing directly in front of me was the drunken man, arm still outstretched and gleaming knife inches away from my face. Around the point of the blade I could see the man's face, see his dead eyes, see the blood dribbling from the corners of his mouth.

And then the man was down. Dead before he could hit the floor, with three shuriken sticking out of his back.

I stared down amazed before quickly looking to the skies, in hope of catching a glimpse at our savior. Instead, I found an ANBU with gleaming gray hair, crouched on top of one of the rooftops across from us. He looked back at me with his expressionless mask before giving me a lazy farewell wave and disappearing.

"Who was that?" Naruto asked, suddenly standing up beside me, he was looking at the spot were the ninja just vanished.

"That was Hatake Kakashi," I replied without hesitation, "Our village's number one UNBU."

XXXXXXX

Naruto and I found ourselves lying perfectly awake later that night in our room. Neither of us spoke but we both knew that we were awake, and that we were both thinking about the same thing.

"People are dumb," Naruto suddenly spoke up in the darkness, "I hate people."

"It's only some people," I assured, though at the same time not even fully meaning my own words, "There's plenty out there that are not so…"

"Homicidal?" Naruto finished for me with a smile in his voice.

"Yes,"

"Well I don't care, I've got all the people I need, everyone else in this village can rot for all I care."

I turned my head to where I believed my friend was on the floor, "That's not a good attitude to have for someone who wants to be Hokage one day."

"Well what's the point of being the leader of a village when all of the villagers in it want you dead?"

"That's only now, Naruto, give it time, when you become a ninja of this village you'll be able to show them who you really are then, they will learn that you only have this village's best interests in mind and they won't judge you by what you were…"

"You mean a Fox Demon?" My friend suddenly cut in.

"A what?"

"You heard me," I heard the rustling of grass near my bed, "That guy called me a demon…and he said killing me would make everyone in the village love him…"

"He was drunk and lonely" I reminded him, "He most likely called you a 'Fox Demon' because that was the first thing his poisoned mind could come up with as an insult, you shouldn't let one drunk fool get to you."

It was quiet for a long moment afterwards until finally I heard the sound of rustling and a tired Naruto yawn.

"Your right Shino, I won't let stuff like that get to me, I'm going to be Hokage one day after all," My friend declared sleepily and then with one last tired whisper, "…believe it…"

Soon afterwards I heard the loud snoring of my friend. Yet as I continued to lay there I knew I was far from joining him. For I had my own troubles brewing in my head, they including one stupid, drunken man and his factual names.

Clan Killer…is that what I'm being called now?

XXXXXXX

The next morning. Two days until the Hyuuga's party. Naruto is practically jumping off the walls in excitement, my father does what he can with the bugs still attached to Naruto but even he tired out after awhile and decided it was wiser to let the boy tire himself out.

It looked to be a very long and slow journey.

"I can't believe it, my first party!" Naruto cheered as he basically danced around the acre long bug nursery/indoor forest, "Shino, can you believe it? My first party! I'm _so _excited!"

"Really?" I half-asked half-joked.

"Yeah, really!" Naruto beamed, completely as oblivious to my sarcasm as he was to the person standing behind him.

"Well you couldn't tell by looking at you, spaz," Shikamaru commented, smirking when Naruto jumped in surprise, "Jeez, your jitterier then Shino!"

"Shut-up!" Naruto shot turning on Shikamaru in a flash, "I was just surprised is all, what are you doing here anyways?"

"What? A guy can't visit two of his closest friends just to say hi and exchange pleasantries?"

"Exchange pleasawhos?"

With a sigh Shikamaru rubbed the corners of his eyes in frustration, "Okay, forget the jokes, I was just stopping by to see how the formal training was going, I also ran into Hinata here-."

He then waved at the empty space next to him without looking at it, Naruto squinted his eyes at where his hand indicated.

"Hinata? What are you talking about Shikamaru, there's no Hinata there,"

"Naruto, you're dumb, not blind," The intellect stated before turning his face to the spot, "Look, see, she's right-."

He did a double-take, "What the-. Where did she go?"

"Hah! Who's the blind one now?" Naruto grinned, folding his arms triumphantly.

"I swear, I practically walked into her hiding in the bushes near the Aburame esta-."

"I-I'm right here!" Hinata called, quickly cutting off Shikamaru as she jogged up beside us out of nowhere.

"Where did you run off to?" Shikamaru asked skeptically, "You were right beside me not eight seconds ago."

"Uh I-I g-got l-l-lost…" Hinata said meekly, gaining a bright red blush as she looked to the ground in sheer embarrassment. And at that moment I felt the uncontrollable desire to hold her, to tell her everything was alright, I wanted to make her stop stuttering and look up at us-me as she spoke, so I could see those beautiful eyes….

As I contemplated these strange new feelings someone beat me to the chase.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed Hinata!" Naruto comforted, placing a firm hand on the small girl's shoulder, making her flinch, but as soon as she looked up and saw who it was I couldn't help but notice her face get a shade or two redder, "This place is so huge! I would get lost myself if I didn't have Shino around."

Hinata seemed to try to form coherent words but when her mouth moved no sound came out. So instead she just nodded and kept staring at her feet and blushing heavily until Naruto released his hand.

"Well you I would understand, blind boy," Shikamaru said, sneering at Naruto, "But Hinata is from a clan that specifically focuses on eye jutsus, for her to get lost just doesn't-."

"Didn't you come here to see how Naruto's training was going?" I suddenly cut in, noticing the more ashamed Hinata looked the more Shikamaru continued, it got to the point where my foot actually fidgeted as I fighted my desire to hold her, so I used the only option I had left, a change of subject.

It worked, thankfully.

"Oh, right," Shikamaru said nodding before turning his attention to Naruto, "So what else can you do besides opening a door?"

Naruto's face instantly brightened with delight, "Tons! Come on I'll show you to the hallway so you can see me walk!"

Without another word the over-eager boy grabbed the lazy boy by the wrist and began dragging him out of the nursery, Shikamaru could only look back at us helplessly before being pulled out of sight.

I began to follow after them when I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. Turning around I saw Hinata still standing in the same position as she was before, only now her pretty white eyes were staring up at me, once again I was glad my jacket hid the blush.

"Um, th-thank you f-for i-interupting," The shy girl thanked, she then gave me a small smile before walking past me and in the direction of where Naruto and Shikamaru left. I could only stare after her.

Come on Shino, say something! Tell her she's welcome; tell her she looks cute in that black shirt, anything. Don't let her walk away without saying something. You won't right? You're not just going to let her walk out without saying at least one word are you?

Apparently I am.

XXXXXXX

For the rest of the day the four of us explored my home all the while Naruto explained everything about his training with Shikamaru and Hinata. From being taught how to walk properly with the use of my father's bugs to the endless rules on how to be proper to a female.

Naruto seemed to enjoy talking about his screw ups which always seemed to earn a groan of disappointment from Shikamaru and a soft musical giggle from Hinata. I think that was the reason he started talking about them so much for he'd always watch Hinata as he explained waiting for the girl to laugh her pretty laugh, never seeming to notice how it would make Hinata too embarrassed to even look back.

Sadly enough I wasn't really focused on their conversation, instead I was brooding over both new and old feelings that were currently rushing through my head and body like a bad storm. As I watched Hinata laugh with Naruto, be embarrassed by Naruto, smile at Naruto, I could feel the same twisting in my gut as I did before, but now there was something new to this viewing.

New to the viewing, but old to the experience.

I was feeling increasingly sad about myself. Every time I watched Naruto make Hinata laugh, make her happy, I couldn't restrain myself from thinking that I could never do that for her, not Stoic Shino.

I couldn't even speak to her when we were both alone. Yet I bet if Naruto and Hinata were alone they'd just spend hours and hours talking and laughing, laughing and talking.

"Excuse me," I said before I could stop myself, standing up and justly cutting Naruto off in mid-sentence of another embarrassing thing he had done, now they were all quiet, all looking at me, I made sure I wasn't looking back at any of them, "Sorry, but I need to use the restroom, I shall return shortly."

Without another word, or even waiting for them to reply I hurried out of the room. I was thinking about this way too much and the more I thought of it the more my stomach started to hurt…I felt like I was about to choke…

I just needed air; I needed to clear my head…

XXXXXXX

_Hyuuga Hinata_

Naruto and Shikamaru merely shrugged their shoulders when Shino told them he had to use the restroom. Not suspecting in the least that he could be lying, not that I blamed them or anything, with my eyes I could see straight through Shino's lie.

But why did he lie just to leave us though? We all seemed to be having such a good time…well _I_

was having a good time listening to Naruto tell me- I mean us about his experiences…he's so funny.

…I guess I truly wouldn't know why Shino would feel so troubled…I wasn't really paying attention to him at all…

Stupid Hinata! What kind of friend are you trying to be? Shino stuck up for you when you were too embarrassed to say anything yourself.

Naruto tried to make me feel better to…oh Naruto…

Stop it! Something is bothering Shino and as a friend you need to go see what is wrong…even if it does mean leaving Naruto…

I looked to the boy now; he was currently laughing and talking excitedly with Shikamaru now…he had such a cute smile…

"I-I need t-to be e-excused as well," I spoke up, Shikamaru and Naruto quieted down quickly and looked at me with confused looks.

"Do you need to use the bathroom to?" Naruto asked me. Oh Naruto, please don't look at me with those sky blue eyes! I can't think straight when you do.

"Y-yes," I quickly replied, looking away from Naruto, not that I wanted to, but it was the only way to be able to talk coherently.

"Well, do you know where to go?" Shikamaru asked me, "I can show you the way if you don't remember."

"I k-know w-where it is!" I quickly shot back, perhaps too quickly, for Shikamaru now looked at me with incredulous eyes, I needed to go before I blew it, "S-sorry, please excuse m-me."

With a quick bow I turned heel and quickly walked out of the room, but not before giving a certain Uzumaki one final glance.

I miss you already.

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

There. This is what I needed. Outdoors, cooling breeze, sinking sun, my dearest friends exploring the air around me. I was finally at true peace, if even only for a moment. No emotions, no people, no troubles, just me and my insects.

My mind was blank for I did not need to think anything. All I needed was quiet and peace, to be the empty cocoon I always dreamed to be. No worries, no feelings, just a ninja born to fight, born to protect, born to-.

"Shino?"

My heart stopped. What was she doing here? Why during my time of peace did she need to show up?

"Shino, are you alright?"

Why does she look so concerned now? Why is she sitting on the grassy hill beside me?

"I…"

What was I supposed to say? My heart stopped but my brain was now reversing back to its continual million thoughts a second process. Only now it was under even more turmoil, for now Hinata was sitting beside me, closer then I ever remember her being to me, and she was looking directly into my face with such a look of concern…

"I'm fine," I finally managed to spit out, and now that the hard part was out of the way I risked more words, "I just needed some fresh air."

I then tore my eyes away from her and back to where the sunset was falling, desperate to get my mindless peace back; she would go away soon, back to Naruto, back to her happiness.

"You're lying," Hinata stated, apparently not having moved one centimeter. I looked back to her but did not say anything. What more could I say?

"It's just as Shikamaru said before," Hinata explained, "My clan specializes in eye techniques, I can tell how a person really feels just by looking into their expression."

I raised an eyebrow, "Well my clan doesn't exactly make it easy for someone to see our expression…"

"True," Hinata agreed nodding, "But you still show enough for a Hyuuga, enough for me to know you were lying when you said you had to use the restroom, and now when you say you are fine."

I was once again speechless, trapped both by her knowledge of my true feelings and the entrancing gaze of her eyes. That is until I finally noticed something very interesting.

"You are not stuttering when you talk," I pointed out, and just as I expected Hinata's white orbs grew wide in surprise. She then raised her hand and placed the tips of her fingers against her lips. She remained in that position for several moments before dropping her hand again and looking back up at me.

"…I guess…it's because I'm…so worried about you, I don't really have time to be…embarrassed."

"Why are you worried about me?" I couldn't help but ask, "I know you know that I was lying, but why do you still care? It's not really any of your concern."

Hinata seemed a little put out at that and I instantly felt guilty for being my usual blunt self with her, she defiantly deserved better. But before I could apologize she spoke again, this time with a strong sense of certainty in her voice.

"Because you are my friend, Shino, and because you've helped me more than once, when you stuck up for me earlier today…and…when you carried me back home that night…"

"Wait, what?" I was totally thrown off at that, I carried Hinata home? When? I don't remember anything like that!

"Did you forget already?" Hinata asked, sadness etching into her face again, "It was the night I first met you and…Naruto…I was watching you and N-Naruto train when one of the kunai almost hit me and I fainted…and when I woke up you were carrying me…don't you remember?"

"Hinata, really, I-." But I was forced to stop, because in an instant I remembered, I remembered everything.

My insects went rouge again…they took control of my weapon and launched it at Hinata…Naruto made her faint…I carried her home…on my back…I was holding her…we were touching…I held Hinata!

All of a sudden a dizzy spell hit me. It was too much too fast, I couldn't hold it all in, the dizzying got worse and I felt my head fall back to the ground, blackness quickly creeping in my vision.

"Shino!?" I heard Hinata call out, but her voice was soft, far-away and before I knew it my senses went black.

XXXXXXX

………_.._

"No way, he couldn't have,"

"Oh he so totally did, he did, he did!"

"No, not him, I refuse to believe it,"

"Dude! Open your eyes! He's lying right there on the floor!"

"There must be some mistake, maybe he got tired and fell asleep?"

"Nooooo way, Hinata was there, she was right beside him when it happened, and look his face is still red, he defiantly did NOT fall asleep in front of her!"

Shikamaru shook his head sadly as he looked down at the figure he and Naruto were standing over, completely ashamed that this was the same person he had introduced himself to all that time ago.

"Here you grab his right arm and I'll grab his left."

"Okay! Man I can't wait till he wakes up!"

"I doubt he wants that to happen anytime soon."

Shikamaru and Naruto grabbed the fallen body by their assigned arms and lifted it up so that it now rested in-between them comfortably. They then began walking back towards the arrangement of buildings the boy called home.

"Well, when he does wake up I'm going to make sure he never forgets what happened!"

"I know I won't," Shikamaru muttered as he shook his head again before looking over to the unconscious body, "Who would have guessed Aburame Shino, _our_ Aburame Shino could…._faint?"_

XXXXXXX

I awoke with a start, instantly confused and wondering where I was and how I ended up falling asleep. Once my vision cleared I took in the familiar objects of my bug collection and relaxed slightly when the realization of being in my own room sunk in. That feeling was quickly dashed, however, when Naruto suddenly burst into my room.

"Shino! You're finally awake!" He cried in joy as he walked over to me, meanwhile I grabbed at my still frantically beating heart as my breathing attempted to slow.

"What happened?" I asked, knowing something _did_ happen considering I could not remember lying down in my bed to fall asleep.

"Dude, you've been out for almost a whole day!" Naruto proclaimed, and when I didn't reply right away he continued; only now with a sly smile, "Whatever Hinata did really threw you for a loop."

"Hinata?" I said, even more confused now until once again the memories came whooshing back in my head, so quickly in fact that I felt a familiar dizzying spell as I tried to sit up in my bed. Naruto quickly placed a steadying hand on my shoulder.

"Whoa, Shino, your not gonna faint again are you?"

"I don't faint," I said firmly, but I was only trying to convince myself. The thought of me fainting…it just didn't fit, didn't seem natural. Almost like the thought of me laughing…

"Uh, huh," Naruto said, sounding about as convinced as I was, he then grabbed my arm and proceeded in trying to pull me out of bed, "But anyways, come on to the kitchen, Mom said she had a surprise for us!"

"Alright, go on ahead; I'll join you shortly,"

With a smile and a nod my friend raced back out of my room. I quickly began rising from my bed, the dizziness spell finally passing when a sudden realization made me pause.

Did Naruto just call Aburame Amarante 'Mom'?

XXXXXXX

When I eventually entered the kitchen I was defiantly in for a surprise, but not in the least of what I was expecting.

In the kitchen I found my Mother fussing with the extremely formal and fancy robes on a small, yellow-haired boy with circular sunglasses and a collar that was much too big for him. When said boy turned to me as I hesitantly walked in I could swear it have been my twin with blonde hair.

"Oh, Shino sweetie, doesn't your friend look precious!" My mother commented as she looked at me with a bright smile, Naruto in turn just giggled and blushed.

He was wearing the standard formal clothing of an Aburame. Long, dark, flowing robes that were put on smoothly over a simple black shirt with a high collar that was lined with shining silver buttons.

"Look it, Shino, I could be like your brother in this stuff!" Naruto exclaimed, wriggling out of my mother's fingers and, running over to the far wall, pulled out a neatly folded bundle of clothing, "Here, put these on, you'll see, they look just like mine!"

"I'll be taking that," My mother announced, snatching up the clothing before Naruto could make it all the way to me, earning an annoyed look from the small boy, "I'm only letting you wear yours as an award for doing such a phenomenal job with your formal training, we can't risk getting these torn the day before the Hyuuga party can we?"

"No…"

"No what?"

"No ma'am."

"Good, now I think you've had enough time to get the feel of your clothing, hurry and change, I need to keep these somewhere safe until tomorrow night!"

"Yes ma'am," And with a silent rolling of the eyes in my direction Naruto quickly sped out of the room.

My mother looked after him long after he was gone from her sight; I did not know what else to do with myself until Naruto came up with something so I decided to wait there. We stood there in silence for several moments until my mother interrupted it with a long sigh.

"They say his parent's died the day he was born," She said, quickly earning my attention, my mother wasn't looking at me nor in anywhere in particular, "No one knows what happened but for all of his life that sweet little boy has been living on his own, with not a scrape of motherly affection…"

She fell silent and it was quiet in the room for several long stretches of time before I decided to add on my thoughts, curious to see how much my mother knew:

"He seems to be doing fine."

"Looks can be deceiving, honey, isn't that one of the first things you learn in that Academy of yours?" My mother did look at me now, and in her eyes I could see a great sadness forming, "I've seen your friend a few times when he thinks no one is looking, he can mask his feelings very well but I can tell he's constantly hiding a great pain inside of him…and as a mother, seeing that in such a young boy…it hurts me as well."

I gave my mother an un-seen, questioning look, she seemed to be leading me to something, but before I could query her further Naruto burst back into the kitchen, fully dressed in his black shirt and white shorts.

"Hey, Shino, let's go find Shikamaru and Hinata, I want to see what they are going to wear for the party!" He exclaimed, completely oblivious to the heavy tension that hung in the air.

I didn't reply at first, instead I looked over to my mother. She looked back at me, but instead of the deep sadness I had seen before a wide smile was placed on her face.

"What a great idea!" She said to Naruto before turning back to me, "Go on, Shino, you two have fun, your father and I need to make some last preparations before the Hyuuga celebration tomorrow."

I looked at my mother for the span on a few seconds before succumbing to her fake cheerfulness and followed Naruto out of the kitchen, maybe she just needed some time alone…

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Amarante_

As I watched my son and Naruto leave the kitchen I felt the smile on my face slowly lower itself back to its solid line. The same worries filling my head the way they did when I first learned that that boy was parentless.

My husband had told me he would talk about it more later, but on the many occasions that I had asked him about the matter he would simply tell me "Later, Amarante, but not now."

Well not this time. Before this day was over I was going to get some answers out of that man. Yet making a fully grown Aburame shinobi talk was about as hard as having a meaningful conversation with a tree.

Unless you knew his weakness, and being his wife, the woman who bore his child, I did know it, and right now, while we are both alone, I was going to make him talk using the one thing he couldn't resist.

My body.

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

"I wonder what Shikamaru's parents are like," Naruto said to me as me walked down the Nara clan's main pathway that lead to the front doors, "You think they are as lazy and violent as he is?"

"I'm not sure," I said honestly before dropping my voice slightly, "But I hear that his mother is a real monster."

Naruto's face paled slightly at that, "Yeah I remember him saying something about that to, you don't think she'd…_attack_ us do you?"

I knew instantly what Naruto was thinking about.

"I do not think anyone's mother would attack two small boys just because of their reputation, we'll be fine."

"Yeah…you're right," My friend said with a nod and an attempt at a smile, but he looked and sounded completely unconvinced. Even more so when we reached the front door,

"Well…this is it…"

I raised my hand and knocked three times on the front doors, we only had to wait several seconds before they were answered.

"Well, hello there, Aburame Shino," A man who looked very much like and older, more rugged version of Shino greeted as soon as he opened the door, "My son has told me a lot about you,"

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Nara," I replied, bowing low.

"Now, now no need for all the formality, as I hear you will be getting plenty of that tomorrow night!" Shikamaru's father said smiling widely as he patted my shoulder, "And please, call me Shikaku."

"Wow…" Naruto breathed as he stared up at the man, "You look like a cool version of Shikamaru!"

Shikaku then turned to my friend, and instantly his smile died, "And you must be-."

"Uzumaki Naruto!" The boy announced, raising his hand towards the man, "It is a pleasure to meet you!"

Shikaku stared at the hand for several moments and I was half expecting him to slap it away. Yet instead the man regained his smile almost as if it were never missing and grasped Naruto's hand firmly.

"The pleasure is all mine, young Naruto," He assured, shaking the boy's hand, "Shikamaru has also told me many interesting things about you."

"Really? Like what!?"

I couldn't imagine Shikamaru saying anything that Naruto would find pleasing, and it seems Shikaku felt the same way.

"Maybe later," He said opening the doors wider for us, "But please, come in, my son will be very happy to know he has visitors."

When we found Shikamaru he looked more surprised than pleased to see us. Yet once he was past the initial shock he grew comfortable, though, as he soon told us, he would have defiantly kicked us out if his mom had gotten back from her grocery shopping before we got here.

We spent a few hours going through the Nara household, I wasn't surprised to find a wide variety of medicine ingredients and medical jutsu books collected around the shelves and cabinets, already knowing the Naras to be famous for their medical practices.

Naruto however deemed it necessary to poke around at every strange smelling or colored concoction he could lay his hands on, earning a few justified bumps on the head from both Shikamaru and Shikaku. ("I guess it does run in the family…" Naruto had said after his most recent double team attack.)

Once we had finished the tour Naruto was quick to remember that he wanted to see what Hinata was going to wear to the party. I had remembered to, although it was mainly because it was all I was thinking about during the little exploration of Shikamaru's house.

Our hopes were quickly dashed however when the intellect informed us that no Hyuuga would be seen outside their clan the day before the celebration, they all were far too busy making final preparations and needed every one of their available shinobi.

So then, in an attempt to bring our spirits back up, Naruto decided to ask Shikamaru on what he was going to wear. Yet, as if enjoying watching us suffer, Shikamaru then told us the short, yet sad, story of how his dad was going on a week long mission starting the day of the Hyuuga party and that his only son wouldn't be allowed to go to the Hyuuga party without his father.

We later left the Nara household with much damaged spirits. Or more like shooed out by our supposed friend as soon as he suspected his mother to be arriving home shortly.

Though we weren't as concerned about that as much as we were about where we were standing at that party now. Being a clan member Hinata most likely would be far too busy to hang out with us and now that Shikamaru wasn't going to be able to come we both had to now face the horrible truth.

We were going to be alone. Just us and my father. Just us, my father, and a bunch of strangers who only knew us through rumors.

Through the words of my closest friend. 'We are sooooo dead.'

XXXXXXX

"This is it," Naruto whispered to me as we lay in my room later that night, both of us far too nervous/excited to sleep, "This time tomorrow we're going to be at that Hyuuga party, _my _first party."

I wasn't exactly sure what to say to that so I merely nodded in understanding. An un-seen nod in the dark. It wasn't until a little bit later that I finally thought of something to say.

"Whatever happens tomorrow night, no matter how bad, just remember that you worked hard for this chance, don't let anything make you give in, you know how to be formal, you are ready for this party."

Feeling very good about my miniature speech I waited patiently for my friend's grateful thanks. Instead what I got was a prolonged silence.

"Naruto?" I asked after a while, thinking that maybe he was just going over what I said in his head. The quiet only lasted for a short while but when my friend spoke what came out was a very long, very loud snore.

XXXXXXX

I awoke the next day to the sound of shouting. It took time, enough time to get up from bed and rub the sleep from behind my shades, before I realized that the shouting was being thrown at me.

"Shino, get up already, we have an hour to get ready!" Naruto ordered while he himself was sloppily jumping around the room as he tried to tug his pants on, "We slept in again dude! Almost all day!"

"What?" I asked, completely unbelieving to what I was hearing.

"Check outside!" Naruto cried, pointing to one of my many windows, "The sun is already going down, see? Shibi is already dressed and everything, he's waiting on us!"

I quickly looked to the window, only to see that my friend was indeed right. We had slept the day away, now night was upon us, it was really time now. It was time for the Hyuuga party.

XXXXXXX

"Now tell me, what are the three most important things to do when talking to a woman?"

"Look at their face when talking to them, make sure to compliment them at least twice during the conversation, and continuously remind them that you are listening when they are talking about a particular subject."

"Good, but what kind of compliments do we give women?"

"Nothing that involves their body, general compliments about their face or their clothing style is the best route,"

"Excellent, you've learned your lessons well, Naruto."

My friend produced a large grin as we walked through the darkened streets, "Thanks, Shibi!"

The three of us were now on our way. Though the walk to the Hyuuga clan wasn't a short one, so my father had decided to quiz Naruto a long the way, just to keep my friend's brain active on the formality training. So far he had no missed a question.

"We are going to make one stop before proceeding to the gathering," My father announced as we made an unexpected turn, "I wish to speak with Itachi about joining us tonight."

Naruto and shared a glance before I turned back to my father, "Are you sure that is wise, father?" I asked, Itachi never struck me as much of a social gathering person, and even if he was I doubted he'd want to be anywhere besides the hospital after being banished from clan and suffering from blindness and severe external burnings.

"Perhaps not," My father said, nodding in agreement, "But I still feel it is my obligation to ask."

So off we went to our little detour. Only to end up waiting outside the hospital with Naruto as my father went to check in on Itachi. He was only absent from our sight for several minutes but when he emerged from the building the exposed portions of his face revealed that he looked extremely troubled.

Yet when Naruto and I asked him what had happened my father only said that he was told Itachi could not be seen tonight, but refusing to go into further details.

The rest of the walk to the Hyuuga estate stretched on in strange silence. Strange because Naruto was a part of our group, and whenever that was the case silence was not even considered in the thought process.

In the midst of my worried thoughts of Itachi I looked over at Naruto. My friend was walking very stiffly beside my father, probably having his body under the control of my father's will at the moment, thankfully today was his last day.

I walked closely behind to two, so I couldn't get a good look at Naruto's face, but just the fact that he was silent gave me enough reason to suspect something was wrong.

"Are you nervous?" I asked, making Naruto noticeably jump before he turned his head to face me.

"Of course not!" He exclaimed, beaming widely at me before turning his head back away, "What do I have to be nervous about? I know everything there is to know about being formal!"

"There is no reason to be ashamed of your fear," My father pointed out, "Fear is what helps you learn, survive it and you will gain much knowledge on how to conquer it."

"I told you I'm not afraid!" Naruto shot, turning his head stubbornly away from my father, only to have it be forcibly straightened back out again, earning a short cry of surprise from my friend.

"It is impolite to turn your head in such a manner in front of your superiors," My father said, not turning to either Naruto or myself.

We walked in silence one again afterwards. Yet once Naruto was sure that my father was focused back on our destination he slowly turned his head to speak to me again, only when he did it was in a hushed whisper, in hopes of my father being unable to over hear. For good reason.

"He just made that up didn't he?"

XXXXXXX

The walk only lasted a short while longer before we arrived. We had reached our destination, the Hyuuga party, Naruto's first party, and unknowingly the place where so many new changes were about to occur.

The decorated clan was a spectacle, to say the least. Large circular lights hung from all of the balconies and the tallest of the beams. Beautifully cut paper decorations dotted the outer windows and hung from trees the glow from the light shinning through their open spaces and revealing spectacular shapes on the surrounding ground and walls.

The roofs themselves were lined with numerous different colored lights and flowers, but what caught my attention most about them were the ninja guards that were standing at attention between the decorations.

"Well this is new," My father commented as he to looked to the roves.

"They don't normally have guards at a Hyuuga party?"

"Certainly not, to have armed shinobi at such a formal occasion is almost unthinkable, it _was_ unthinkable, until just now."

"Do you think it's because of-."

I then silently motioned to Naruto, my friend currently too busy staring wide eyed at the scene before him to pay any attention at all to our conversation.

"I am not sure," My father said, leading us closer to the clan, "But we are about to find out."

There was a large gathering of fancily dressed villagers and ninja alike standing near the front doors leading into the Hyuuga's main clan room, where the party awaited. At the doors itself stood a very familiar looking man and his daughter, the two were each taking part in the STUPID ritual of the front door greeting with each individual person that entered.

From far away I couldn't really get a good look at her but I knew the daughter was little Hinata and that the man beside her was her father, someone I hadn't seen since my first day at the Academy, the same man who used his strange eye jutsu on me.

"This is it, Naruto," My father spoke as we entered the crowd of people, "Time to show everyone what you have learned."

"No sweat!" My friend quickly retorted…although maybe a tad too quickly in my opinion.

XXXXXXX

"Ah, Aburame Shibi, I am so pleased to see you have come to grace my home once again," Hinata's father greeted bowing before my father after they had both completed the front door ritual.

"The honor is all mine, Hyuuga Hiashi," My father replied, bowing in return, "I am here with my son and his friend, the two friends that I believe your daughter requested to bring with her."

"Oh?" Hiashi said, now focusing his gaze onto me, I felt my body instantly stiffen when our eyes connected, vividly remembering the strange sensation that went through my body when he had looked at me all that time ago, and even though his eyes did not have the strange veins as they did that time the feeling remained the same, "Ah, yes, I do remember you, young Aburame Shino, you have certainly made a name for yourself since I first met you at the Academy."

"I…uh…" I was at a complete loss for words, the combination of the Hyuuga's piercing gaze and being reminded of my shameful deeds was a tad bit overwhelming. Thankfully, my father chose this moment to cut in.

"Might I inquire, old friend, on why you feel the need to have so many guards on your property this year?"

Hiashi quickly turned back to my father, to my extreme relief, and the disengagement of his gaze allowed me enough time to look at Hinata. Small, beautiful, Hinata.

She was dressed in a royal blue gown that stretched down to the floor around her feet; it was decorated with an assortment of stitched flowers and birds. Her small face was heavily powdered and blushed and her eyes were lined with dark shadow, complementing her snowy white eyes very well. Her short hair was miraculously tied into a tight bun behind her head.

"Wow, Hinata sure looks pretty tonight, doesn't she?" I heard Naruto whisper into my ear.

"Yeah," I whispered back without looking away from the sight before me.

Hinata finally noticed our staring and with a blush and a small smile she mouthed out a stuttered 'hello'.

"-you see these aren't just any guards," Hiashi said, his voice drifting back into my awareness after I had been blown away by his daughter, "Those shinobi are from my clan, I wouldn't trust any other kind with the type of situation I am in."

"And what situation would that be?" My father queried, earning an annoyed look from Hinata's father.

"I'm afraid that I can not discuss that with you,_ old friend_, for you could easily be someone that I need to keep an eye on tonight."

"But," He continued before my father could go on, "I have guests to welcome, and it is very improper to keep them waiting."

He then turned back to me, much to my discomfort.

"Come now, Aburame Shino, allow me to welcome you into my home."

I quickly allowed him. Rushing into the ritual so as to get it over with quicker, the longer I felt Hiashi's gaze upon me the more uncomfortable I got. The man seemed like he was in good spirits this night but I could tell something was troubling him, and not just troubling, but infuriating him as well.

"Very well done," Hiashi complimented when we had finished, "I see your father has taught you well, he should be very proud."

"Thank you, Hiashi sir," I said, bowing before moving aside to join my father, desperate to loose Hiashi's attention.

I did quickly loose it after I had moved aside, only to have it refocus on the small boy that was now standing alone in front of the leader of the Hyuuga clan.

"Hmm, this is an Aburame I do not recognize…and a _blonde _Aburame to boot, Shibi; I never remember seeing any of your shinobi with light hair."

"That is because he is not an Aburame," My father answered, "That is one of the people your daughter invited, that is-."

"Uzumaki Naruto!" My friend interrupted, pumping a fist into the air, which was quickly forced back down a second later, which seemed to have jogged Naruto's memory as he soon bowed down, "I mean, it is a great honor to meet you, Hyuuga Hiashi."

I thought my friend had made a good recovery, but it seemed the damage had already been done. The crowd behind us, who were previously chatting while they waited for their turn, was now in a dead silence, and, while I didn't dare to look, I knew they were all staring at the boy who had just cried out his name.

Hinata seemed to only be able to stare at my friend, as if seeing him for the first time, while her father stared on at the boy with a surprised look that was quickly forming into anger. Was my friend that disguised with only shades and a high collar?

"Uzumaki…Naruto?" Hiashi hissed, staring on at my friend in disbelief.

"Yup!" Naruto declared, "Umm, am I supposed to do the STUPID thing now?"

When no one made a reply my friend simply shrugged, as if deciding he would go ahead anyways. I desperately hoped that my short guess was wrong, but of course, it wasn't.

"Greetings," Naruto said, bowing once again, "My name is, Uzumaki Naruto, of the shack down the street, I am here on the premises of the Hyuuga clan to beseech the head of the clan to be let inside so to be included in his generous grace and hospitality."

Naruto than rose and offered one tiny hand to the man in front of him. Hiashi stared at it as if it were some creature about to attack him.

"No…" Hiashi growled, "No, I refuse to accept the likes of you in my house!"

"Hiashi!"

"Father!"

"Do not question me," Hiashi hissed, looking away from Naruto as my friend slowly lowered both his hand and his head, "I am leader of this clan, and I can refuse anyone I deem necessary."

"That may be true," My father said, walking up behind Naruto and placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, "But you are only disgracing yourself by refusing to accept someone not because of their lack of formality, but because of your own selfish prejudi-."

"I said, DO NOT QUESTION ME!" Hiashi roared, his eyes blazing over in fury, looking almost dangerously similar to those same eyes that stared into me…

"Father…please don't…" Hinata begged as she hesitantly made her way in her father's direction.

"I will not allow you to refuse this boy access." My father informed, in his confident, monotone voice.

Hiashi was unfazed, he almost smiled, "Oh really? And what do you intend to-."

"Excuse me," a different voice suddenly cut in and all at once all our focus was turned to the ANBU shinobi that was standing beside my father, as if he had been there all along, "But I may have a solution to this petty squabbling."

"This does not concern you, Kakashi," Hiashi spat.

"You are quite correct," Kakashi said with a nod, "Because my plan concerns Hinata and Naruto, it certainly has nothing to do with me."

"Don't play games with me ANBU," Hiashi warned, "This is my clan, my celebration, I decide who stays and who leaves."

"True, but did you not appoint your daughter with those same exact responsibilities?" Kakashi inquired, "And did you not also allow her to invite her friends to join her in this…celebration?"

Hiashi tried to speak at first, but all that came out was empty air, eventually all that he could sputter out was, "Th-that was before I knew…"

"That Uzumaki Naruto was one of her friends?" Kakashi interrupted harshly, "Are you honestly going to stand there and tell me you share the same unjustified believes that common villagers and low-lives share?"

"You do not understand…" Hiashi said, now visibly shaking with anger as he looked down at Naruto, though my friend kept his head to the ground, which hadn't moved since Hiashi refused him, "That boy…that mo-."

"I am not here to discuss your excuses for disliking this boy," Kakashi interrupted, before turning to Hinata, "Your daughter here is also responsible for the people who are allowed in, as well as being the sole heir to the head of your clan, if you refuse someone she has the decision to either accept them or turn them away as well," The ANBU then turned back to Hiashi, "You know that as well as I do."

"Very well then," Hiashi muttered, his anger dieing away to a now softer, more vicious, in my opinion, cold fury as he rounded on to his daughter, "Go ahead Hinata, disgrace this family further by allowing that _boy _into our home, he is your _friend_ isn't he?"

Hinata looked back at her father in disbelief, her eyes wide and already brimming with tears.

"That is enough Hiashi," my father said warningly, stepping away from Naruto and moving to face Hiashi, "You are making a poor name for yourself this night, my friend."

"Do not mock me," Hiashi said evenly, his eyes now were fully into the state I remembered them to be, the dangerous looking white eyes with the numerous veins stretching out from them.

"Enough!" a voice declared, a voice that didn't belong to anyone that stood around me, "It's time to die you demon fox!"

I didn't even have time to think, one second my body was still, standing dumbfounded as I watched my father about to fight Hyuuga's father, and then the next I was standing behind Naruto, facing the crowd of people and the single kunai blade that sailed towards me.

I saw Kakashi dive towards me, but I already knew it was too late. There wasn't any pain when the point dug into my chest, I believe I was too stunned to feel any pain at the moment, though I did feel the impact of Kakashi's body as he plowed into Naruto and myself, sending us sailing into the ground, but not before I could faintly hear the slight whoosing sound of three more kunai knives as they whizzed through the air behind us and sunk into the wooden door between Hinata and the two fathers.

"Exploding notes!" I heard my father cry out right before a huge explosion erupted behind us, I could feel the heat on my exposed back but I heard the painful cry of Kakashi, knowing that it was he who was absorbing the blast.

I wanted to say sorry to him, I wanted to thank him for saving me, but the loss of blood was too much. The adrenaline was running out, I was beginning to feel the severe pain that was now enveloped in my chest, though I was also feeling the numbness that was slowly crawling up from the bottoms of my feet.

I lay there with my face to the ground, feeling a warm stickiness begin to leak below my cheek. I could feel my vision begin to blur as Kakashi's heavy body fell completely onto me, I did not know whether he was alive or not.

"Get Hinata out of here!" I suddenly heard Hiashi cry somewhere in the distance, the sounds of colliding weapons and the out cries of jutsus were also now mixing in with the air, but I couldn't think too hardly on it, or anything else for that matter, I could feel myself already slipping away into comforting darkness…

"Some first party huh?" Naruto suddenly wheezed beside me, lying underneath Kakashi's opposite side, I had almost forgotten he had been knocked away by Kakashi as well, one of his cheeks was completely burned raw and I could see blood beginning to dribble from his mouth.

I looked over to my friend though I did not have the strength to say anything back. So instead I smiled softly back at him before nodding. Naruto's hand then enveloped around one of my already numb ones that lay on the ground in between us.

"Do you think we're going to die?"

Almost instantly Kakashi's hands placed themselves gently on top of ours.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," The top ANBU ninja swore, before making his own hand signs on top of our hands and then placed his palms on the ground, **"Earth Style: Groundhog technique, escape!"**

XXXXXXX

_Itachi_

"Does that feel extra cold now that you're blind?" The feminine voice that once belonged to my nurse teased as I felt the blade dig further into my neck.

I did not reply, could not reply. I was ashamed of myself I had been warned that an attack was imminent on this day yet still I was taken off guard, still I allowed myself to be tricked. And it was all because I was blind, all because I was now useless to the world and my village.

Perhaps I deserve this. Perhaps I want this.

"I'm going to make sure I enjoy this…" My nurse continued as she began to cut a solid line across my neck, but not deep enough to kill me.

I didn't deserve a quick death.

I didn't desire a quick death.

XXXXXXX

**To Be Continued…**

(Finally done, god!)


	10. The ExFormal Declination

**Hello one and hello all. I am back, with a major vengeance! My poor excuse for a laptop completely crashed on me before right before I could finish this chapter previously but now I have a bran spankin new work station (coughXPScough) and I do believe it will allow me to work on this story for a long time to come! Huzah!**

**Soooo without further a due I am proud to introduce…**

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 10**_

**XXXXXXX**

_Sarutobi_

It had been a long day. A long day of paperwork after paperwork after paperwork. I couldn't help but glare at the remaining tower of the flimsy articles as I took a long drag from my pipe, the taste somewhat soothing.

Yet that feeling was not meant to last.

"Lord Hokage!" my assistant, Ebisu, suddenly cried out as he burst through the door, nearly scaring me out of my chair, not that I'd ever let _him _know that.

"Yes, Ebisu?" I asked as patiently as I could, I could already feel a headache starting to form.

"Terrible news Hokage sir I-." Yet my assistant stopped and suddenly gave me a horrified look. "Oh, Hokage! Did I startle you!?" Then before I could reply, "I am so terribly sorry Hokage sir! I knew I should have knocked before I entered but-."

"What is the news, Ebisu?" I requested again, this time not bothering to hide my impatience, my headache growing by the second.

"Well you see sir…" Ebisu began noticeably softer now as he pushed up his glasses, "It's the Hyuga mansion…is appears to be…under siege."

"The Hyuga mansion?" I repeated astounded, of all the shinobi clans… "Aren't they having their annual Flower Festival tonight?"

"That would be correct Hokage…" Ebisu replied, "In fact everyone in this very building had left for the festival…besides you and me."

"Who attacked them?" I asked ignoring the note of sorrow in his voice, "Was it by another village?"

"No one knows Hokage; I was informed by a common villager who happened to see the black smoke that blanketed the entire estate!"

"I see…" I was forced to rub my temples now, this was defiantly _not _the kind of reward I needed after such a busy day, and yet…

"Well it appears that I am needed once again to save the village from utter doom!" I suddenly declared as I leaped from my seat, Ebisu, as expected, was almost bouncing in joy.

"Oh indeed! Indeed!" He agreed, "The village is in great need!"

"Be that as it may, I am afraid the great Hokage is currently being held down by all this vile paperwork…" I muttered making sure the pain was visible in my voice, "They don't need my official signature, they just need to be looked over and understood by an official shinobi of this building, but there is just so many…if only there was someone left in this building who could handle such a burden while I'm out to save to village…"

"Please allow me to assist you Hokage sir!" Ebisu declared almost instantly standing in attention and giving me his most dignified salute, "I would be most honored to be a part of tonight's victory!"

"Very well then Ebisu, my assistant, you shall be in charge of this building until I return, and I shall hold you responsible if anything goes wrong." I said giving him the full force of my seriousness. Yet, as expected, my assistant did not waver.

"You shall not be disappointed Hokage sir!" He declared and as soon as I turned my back and headed toward the door I could hear the furious pen scratching and page flipping sounds I was hoping for.

I couldn't help but smile as I made my way out of the building. He really made it too easy sometimes.

XXXXXXXX

_Aburame Shibi_

The smoke was blinding. My vision reduced to being able to see no more than a few feet in any direction. I would have chocked on such thickness if it weren't for the over-sized collar and extensive training of using chakra to control my breathing. Yet this wasn't what was currently bothering me the most.

It was loud before. The hacking screams of my comrades and the villagers that riddled the air only a few moments ago now fell into a dead silence. I felt a moment of dread at what could have befallen them but I forced it aside, my personal feelings weren't going to help me free myself of this smog and find my son and Naruto. So I trudged on, ignoring the burns in my left arm and the fact that the destruction beetles I sent out at least ten minutes ago have yet to return…

I didn't walk in the chocking silence for long though. I soon heard the sounds of footsteps rapidly approaching my location from behind me; I pulled a hidden kunai from my robe, expecting this. I never wanted to risk simply leaping out of the smoke and exposing myself to an ambush, now it seems my calculations were correct, yet the voice still managed to catch me by surprise.

"Shibi! Amburame Shibi! Is that you?"

"Yes, stay where you are," I ordered holding out my knife in front of the two figures that now stood like two shadows in the smoke before me, "Are you Hiashi?"

"Close, I am Hizashi, Hiashi's twin, and with me is my son, Neji, you remember me don't you?"

"I do remember Hiashi mentioning you before," I said honestly, "But you must understand that I need more than just your name before I can count you both as allies."

"Then allow us to step into your range," Hizashi requested, "We will show you we are allies how only a Hyuga can."

I paused at this. To let them in my vision range will give them a very easy opportunity to strike, or to provide the decoy to any allies hidden in the smoke. But if this was true I would already be in the heat of battle, and besides if these truly were who they saw they were it would greatly help in my attempts to escape this endless smog.

"You may proceed," I allowed, though not lowering the kunai an inch, "But I must ask that you do so with caution."

"We understand, Neji, follow my lead," Hizashi said before he and his son both stepped into my view and as soon as they did I felt my arm lower, two sets of Byakugan watching as it did.

"You see," Hizashi said with a meager smile, "No disguise could replicate our clans blood limit, we are your allies here Shibi."

"I am glad to hear it," I replied with a hidden smile of my own, I couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that I wasn't alone anymore.

XXXXXXX

"Would you happen to know what's going on here?" Hizashi asked as we continued into the black smog, I was curious as to how he and Neji were able to breathe soundly in such a smog but figured it had to do with some form of chakra control, "My son and I were in the estate serving my brother's guests when we heard the explosion, but when we ventured outside all we could see was you in a cloud of this smoke."

"There was an assassination attempt," I stated, thinking back to the recent yet gruesome memory, "Your brother, the ANBU ninja- Hatake Kakashi, Hyuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, myself, and my son, Aburame Shino, could be anyone of the targets, a single kunai was thrown and then kunai with exploding notes were thrown soon after, separating our group…so I am unsure how everyone else is fairing."

_Yet you do know don't you? You saw the kunai hit him, you smelled the blood on his chest, and you know that your son is probably de-._

I halted my thoughts. Now was not the time for distractions, not the time for feelings, I needed to work together with Hizashi and his son, we needed to figure a way out of this.

"Father?" Neji piped up, "Is he saying that Hinata and Uncle Hiashi are hurt?"

Hizashi quickly dropped down on one knee and placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder, "You just need to worry about yourself right now my son, you, myself, and Mr. Shibi here are going to work together to get out of this little predicament and protect our family, so you need to stay strong for them, and for yourself, you got that?"

Neji nodded, his Byakugan eyes holding a fierce conviction. He turned to me as Hizashi stood back up.

"We are under your service now, Shibi," Hizashi told me, placing a firm hand on my shoulder, Neji nodding in agreement, "We shall do whatever you ask; our eyes are under your command."

"Thank you, both of you," I replied, I desired to say more but at that exact time, as if on cue, I heard the faint buzzing of one of my destruction beetles, its distress call informing me that my scouts had success, but not the kind I was expecting.

"Hizashi- Neji- it appears we have less time to prepare then I hoped, the attack is coming to us- now."

"Understood," Hizashi said with a stiff nod before leaping in front of me and crouching in a defensive position, Neji doing likewise from behind me, "We are your eyes Shibi; in this fight we three are one!"

"Multiple kunai- thirty degrees to your left Mr. Shibi!" Neji called while stepping aside to make room. I extended my left arm to the location and shot out a swarm of my insects, instructing them to spin counter-clockwise as they did, the beetles motions sucked in the group of knives like houses in a twister and converged them into a tight ball, halting the momentum and allowing them to clatter harmlessly to the ground as my beetles flew back into me.

"Nicely handled Shibi!" Hizashi congratulated before his head spun to the left, "Multiple shuriken- sixty-three degrees to your right, friend!" I instructed my insects to follow the same pattern and, just like the kunai, the shuriken were sucked in and lost their force."

"You will need to do better than that to best us!" Hizashi called into the darkness.

"Giant shuriken -coming in low- directly in front of me!" Neji cried out a second later, I quickly rushed over to him and shoved him aside while summoning my beetles.

The boy spoke true, the shuriken was sailing towards us, hovering only about a foot or so from the ground, yet it was angled as to swoop upwards in an attempt to be-head the three of us in one sweep. I had only a second to stop that from happening.

The shuriken was far too close to give me time to just shoot out my beetles again so instead I ordered them to swarm around my hands and in a last desperate move I held them out as the shuriken made its final cut.

The weapon sunk into my insects like it was dough, its momentum forcing it to slowly sink into the mass before it stopped completely, one of the great tips managing to knick my palm. Yet I didn't let it go this time, instead I ordered my insects to spin the blade again and as they did so I pulled back my arms and then released the shuriken, sending it sailing back where it came. I could only hope it reached its target.

The loud shriek confirmed that it did.

"Damn your Hyuga eyes! Damn them!" A pained voice hollered soon after, "Let's see you stop this!"

A continuous sound of the clapping noise of hand signs filled the air for about a second before halting completely, the next cry cut the air like knife through butter:

"**Multi-Shuriken Jutsu!"**

Hizashi's mouth fell open as he and his wide-eyed son now looked at the danger that was invisible to me.

"What is it this time Hizashi?" I asked quickly, but the Hyuga only looked back at me and shook his head.

"Take Neji and run, I can handle this alone,"

I didn't want to hesitate, but I did.

"Hizashi I-,"

"Don't falter now Aburame!" Hizashi shot, now furious, "Take my son and flee!"

"Father…" Neji said softly, but I didn't waste time now, in one sweep I lifted the Hyuga boy and sprinted away from the lone shinobi, summoning another swarm of my beetles to surround us in case of an ambush.

I looked back at Hizashi as I ran. He stood erect and still, not even bothering to lift an arm. I felt a sickening drop in my stomach at his stance. Was he just planning on sacrificing himself?

I stopped at this thought, halting in dead sprint, Neji shifted restlessly in my arms.

"Let me down please," I heard him whisper, "I promise I won't run."

I quickly complied with him, setting him down gently so that we could both stand and watch as his father threw his life away. The deafening sound of falling shuriken soon filled the air, all pinpointing for the motionless shinobi, their easy target. I desired to shield my eyes but I did not, Hizashi deserved more than my shame.

So I watched Neji and I simply stood there and watched as the invisible weapons struck home and sunk into every exposed part of the Hyuga's body, ending his life instantly.

Or so I assumed.

The shuriken, they became visible suddenly, in fact everything around the two of us became visible. The black smog was consumed in a bright blue light, the light itself coming from the previously assumed dead ninja.

"Father!" Neji cried out in distress upon seeing the numerous shuriken seeming to stick out from every part of Hizashi, I grabbed the boys arm before he could take a step in Hizashi's direction.

"Wait," I whispered, knowing now that Hizashi was not dead, his body would have fallen over by now, "I believe your father has a plan."

It turned out that I was correct. A second after I calmed down Neji Hizashi's shuriken consumed body then leaned forward, spreading his arms out around him. Then we heard the voice.

"Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin!"

The next movement could only be simply described as a blur. It didn't matter that I knew the mechanics of the attack. It did not matter that I knew the user exerted all the chakra from his body in a deathly whirlwind type attack. I was still amazed.

So amazed in fact that even as the blue glow vanished and the blackness befell us again it took Neji's distressed warning to bring me back down to earth, and to the impending danger. For it seemed I had failed in retreating far back enough to avoid the suriken that flew off Hizashi like bullets.

"Do not worry Mr. Shibi," Neji assured, pulling a hidden kunai from within his robe, "I'll get these!"

With deadly skill and grace the eight year old Hyuga used his blade to successfully counter the lethal bullets, each one harmlessly batted away with a satisfying _clang_.

Yet not a second after the multiple shuriken blocking the young Neji twirled in place so that he was now facing me. His stance alone alerted me of the danger and I moved aside just in time to feel the slight swoosh of air as a figure sailed through the spot I was standing in just a second ago and into Neji's exposed palm.

The sound of a successful hit cut through the air, followed by the figure's grunt of pain, but then soon followed by a short curse as the figure sent a blow into Neji sending the boy sailing out of my vision.

"That was my rib you little bastard!" the man shot in a hoarse voice, he then turned to me but I only caught a flash of white before he disappeared back into the dark.

I barely had time to recover before the sound of footsteps from behind me threw me right back into offensive mode. I turned around; arms extended and ready, only to see Hizashi jogging limply towards me, carrying an unconscious Neji in his arms. I relaxed, grateful for a break in the fighting.

"Master Shibi! It is good to see you unharmed!" Hizashi remarked as he stopped in front of me, he then looked down sorrowfully at his son, "When I saw Neji laying on the ground I…I feared the worst."

"We were ambushed; though your son performed marvelously in holding back the attacker before he retreated."

"Did you happen to catch a glance at who it could be?"

I shook my head, "No, the smoke became thick again and I could only catch a flash of his white clothing before he escaped me, his voice seemed to be disguised as well though."

Hizashi opened his mouth to reply but all that came out was a sharp groan of pain before he sunk down to one knee, clutching his son against his chest.

"What is wrong?" I asked, kneeling down next to him, Hizashi merely shut his eyes, biting his lip against the pain. It didn't take me long to spot the kunai that were digging into his right thigh and ribs.

"The Heavenly Spin technique isn't meant for us of the Branch family to learn, I can only do it from hard practice and observation," Hizashi explained before chuckling spitefully, "It seems I still have much to learn."

"You did fine," I assured before extending my arms, "Please, allow me to carry your son, it will make it easier for you to move on your own."

Hizashi hesitated only for a moment but when his Byakugan flickered dangerously he lifted Neji into my arms with a heavy sigh, "Thank-you Shibi, I normally wouldn't desire to place such a burden on someone else but with Neji out it seems I'm your only way to seeing in this blackness."

I felt a chill go down my spine as he spoke those words and as soon as Neji was safely cradled in my left arm I did my best to hold back the stinging burning before I extended my right towards his fallen father.

"Hizashi, I am going to request that you trust me once more, for both our sakes I need to ensure that you are as well protected as possible."

"I trust your judgment Shibi," Hizashi replied without hesitation giving me a serious look, "Please do whatever you feel is necessary."

I only nodded back stiffly, knowing that time was of the essence. I ordered the swarm that was guarding the air around us to converge around the seated Hyuga. Hizashi in turn sat as still as possible, even closing his eyes to relax further. I had to admire his commitment, though his ease at trusting others seemed a tad too loose.

My beetles then worked their way into Hizashi's loose clothing, his face gave away nothing but I did notice his body twitch a few times as the insects settled themselves into his joints, still much better then how the last subject of this technique reacted.

Yet when a small clutter of them worked their way into the kunai wounds Hizashi's face instantly wrinkled up in pain as they slowly twisted the blades out of his flesh. With the destruction beetles in place I slowly controlled Hizashi to stand back up, the bloody kunai falling to the ground as he rose.

"Until we are out of this you will have my direct assistance in keeping you alive Hizashi," I informed, "A small gathering of my beetles will be healing your wounds meanwhile, until that is done I'm afraid I will have a severe lack of chakra."

"This is…impressive Shibi," Hizashi commented staring down at his body in silent awe, a slight shudder rippled through his body however causing the Hyuga to smile sheepishly, "Though I'll admit a tad bit creepy."

"You'll get used to it," I said with a shrug before shifting Neji into my right arm and heading hopefully in the same direction we were in previously, controlling Hizashi's body to follow my lead, "Just be grateful I don't have enough chakra to place them in your head."

XXXXXXX

_Itachi_

The taste of blood was thick in my mouth, thicker than any other time I've tasted it. Maybe it was because I've never been attacked since becoming blind, maybe it's because I've never had my throat sliced open before.

I clung at the wound now in a feeble attempt to stop the flow. Though it was more of a reflex, I inwardly didn't care if the blood continued to flow until my life was drained away, at least then I would be free of this dark world and this useless shell of a body. Though my hand still remained against my neck.

"Now come on you piece of shit," my nurse that was not a nurse snapped, I then felt a hand grip on the collar of my shirt and I was justly thrown from my bed. I hit a wall, hard, the resulting gasp caused me to choke on the blood that suddenly pooled into my throat, "You know it really does my heart fucking good to see you this like this."

Surprisingly my darkness seemed to be getting darker and I could feel a chilling numbness beginning to run up my legs. Was this what it was like to die? Would my body slowly loose feeling until even my brain became cold and lifeless?

The sound of loud footsteps soon cut through my thoughts and once again I felt myself being risen back up into the air by my nurse, as if I weighed as much as a feather. My body began to reunite itself to the wall again…and again…and again.

I felt my ribs breaking one by one but I did not cry out. The blood in my throat began to fill up but I did not choke, holding my breath seemed to increase the speed of the numbing, I was hoping it would reach my shattered ribs soon.

The smashing finally stopped however and without warning the grip on my collar was released from me and I was flying in the air once again. When I hit the floor this time the pain forced my mouth open, releasing all the precious blood I was using, I felt the numbness crawl back down my leg a few inches.

"You fucking shit-head!" my nurse suddenly hollered, "Why won't fucking scream!? I know it hurts so fucking show it!"

Her footsteps were quicker this time and it wasn't long before I felt the kick go into my stomach, sending me sliding back into a wall which once again caused me to hack up more blood, the smell was starting to make me dizzy.

"What is your fucking deal!?"

I decided to speak this time, her constant yelling was starting to give me a headache, "Why… are you… trying… to kill me?"

I honestly didn't care for her reasons, I was simply grateful for her involvement, but if this numbness was going to continue to go as slow as it is I might as well pass the time conversing with her while my throat was free of blood.

"You want to know why the fuck I want to kill you?" my nurse asked and for a third time I felt me lift me, only now it was her hand around my throat and she was no longer smashing me into walls, "It's because I fucking hate your guts, that good enough for you?"

I didn't bother replying, for one I still didn't care for her reasons, and two the blood was finally starting to fill back up in my throat so there was no need to talk while I was busy speeding up the numbness.

My nurse that was not my nurse didn't release me however, nor did it seem like she was done expressing her hatred for me.

"I've seen you around this village, I've seen how you treat people and how they treat you, and you think your really fucking special don't you? You think everyone else is worth shit compared to you and that they aren't worth groveling at your fucking feet," my nurse then chuckled darkly, "Well at least before you lost your god damn precious eyes, now you're just like one of us…that's it isn't it…you really don't give a fuck whether I kill you or not do you?"

My head snapped up at this, some of the blood dribbling from my now loose lips. She knew…this could turn out to be very problematic.

"I don't fucking believe this!" My nurse declared, reading my expression, "You little shit-head you're killing yourself just because you're like one of us, are you seriously that fucked up? You fucking deserve to die."

I felt a moment of relief at those words but that was quickly shot down when her hand then left my throat and I fell back to the ground. I quickly tried to re-close my mouth when I felt it open at the impact of the fall but that to proved futile when my nurse sent another kick into my gut, not hard enough to knock me back but still enough to force me to choke out the blood again.

"You twisted piece of shit, is that why you won't talk? You're keeping all that blood in to choke yourself to death, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"What…do…you care?" I gasped, glaring, I couldn't hold back my irritation, now that I'm finally ready to die my own assassin seemed to be preventing my assassination. Life was cruel. "Just…finish…me."

My nurse's dark chuckle didn't exactly provide me a reassuring answer, "As the fuck if! Now that I know the truth I think it's better that you stay alive like this, you fucking had this coming for the longest time and now you finally get to see what it's like to be a worthless piece of shit like us, you don't deserve a quick death, you don't deserve a death anytime soon, no, all you _fucking _deserve is to continue to live in a life you hate."

I then heard her footsteps again, only thanks to my darkness, my gift, my curse, I quickly realized they were walking away from me this time. No, I wouldn't let her, she had to finish her job, she _had _to. The blood flow was significantly less in my throat, not nearly enough for me to end everything, her cut wasn't deep enough. She had to come back and make it deeper, she had to come back and finish me.

"Wait…" I gasped weakly, rising from the ground, I heard the retreating footsteps pause, "Please…do not leave… you… must end me…your employer… will not be… pleased…you have to… finish the job."

My nurse only laugh again, "I think I can fucking handle myself," I then heard the footsteps continue to make their way out again, but before I could wheeze out another beg they stopped, "…besides I think Fugaku would much rather end you himself."

My darkness broke. Shattered. Replaced by flashing lights, burning lights that flashed spastically.

_Fugaku._

_My father._

_Uchiha._

_Sharingan._

_Konoha._

_Duty._

_Lost._

_Torn._

_Dark._

_Sasuke._

_Shino._

_Shibi._

_Itachi._

I screamed. The images too much, the light too painful. I screamed through the blood in my lungs. I hollered over the pain in my ribs. I cried over the madness in my head. I didn't need to see the nurse anymore, I didn't need to see anything anymore.

I leapt. Only two things going over in my mind.

The Uchiha's had to die.

My nurse that was not my nurse had to die.

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

Pain almost gone. Darkness creeping in. Don't know where I am. Hear breathing. Feels like someone is groaning. My eyes catch flashes of the ground. Of a starry sky.

Darkness overwhelming. Can't stay conscious, can't-.

XXXXXXX

_Hatake Kakashi_

Shino was out now too. I exhaled softly as I shrugged him closer into my body for a better grip. Naruto has passed out while we were underground, I never figured two eight year olds could cause this much strain, even with the 3rd degree burns that coated my back.

I shook these thoughts away. The hospital was dead ahead now, I only needed to hold my body for a few more minutes. The darkness of all the windows left a sinking feeling in my stomach however.

XXXXXXX

"Hello?" I called once at the front desk, the entire waiting area was dark and quiet, as far as I knew the Hospital was _supposed_ to be active 24/7, "Anyone please I have two young boys in dire need of assistance!"

Still no answer. I let out another sigh. I wasn't sure how long my body would hold out like this. Already I could feel the stinging pain from my back work into the rest of my body. If I didn't get myself some medical attention I could be dead by infection within the hour, for now I was Shino's only hope.

With this thought I gently laid Naruto out on one of the sofas in the waiting room, covering up the burn of his cheek by wrapping a large piece of my shirt around his face. I didn't want to leave him behind but time was of the essence, from my experience I knew that if Shino's wounds weren't healed soon he would be dead before the sun was up, if not sooner.

I walked back over to wear I left the Aburame. I had managed to remove the kunai knife from his chest but I wasn't partially skilled in healing jutsu's so I only managed to stop the blood flow momentarily. There had to be medical shinobi active in here somewhere. Though my ANBU senses were telling me that this situation was calling for back up, something was defiantly going on in here.

Sadly though I knew Shino personally. I couldn't listen to my reason knowing it would sacrifice his life. With that knowledge in my head I carefully lifted the boy in my arms and used the remaining chakra to race up the stairs, memory reminding me that even without shinobi there was plenty tech in there to keep him alive tell I found a doctor.

I had just reached the 2nd floor when I heard the yell. It wasn't really a yell though, more like an animalistic screech of pain. The cry vibrated through the long halls of the hospital, causing the hairs to rise on the back of my neck. I was instantly faced with two options.

To either ignore/avoid the noise and find equipment for Shino or track the noise and hopefully discover what the reason was behind all of this.

The answer found me however, when a loud crash suddenly exploded at the end of the hall beside me. I instantly leapt back as debris fell from the roof around the collision. I instantly pulled up my leaf headband, no longer concerned with my chakra levels, this was starting to get dangerous.

Using my good eye I could easily see through the darkness and smoke caused by whatever smashed into the wall. That whatever turned out to be a person, or what was left of him. His body was torn to shreds, limbs missing, face halfway gone, it could no longer be distinguished as a female or male. And the blood, the blood was everywhere, painting the white walls in its bright crimson.

It was a disgusting sight to be sure. But it didn't give me shiver down my spine that the figure slowly stepping from behind the wall did.

Itachi.

Itachi, covered in blood from head to toe. His body beaten, his leg twisted in an impossible angle, face as emotionless as stone.

His eyes.

My whole body went cold as I looked into those eyes, I could feel the hot sweat roll down my forehead. They were the Sharingan eyes I recognized so well. Only they were different- so much different. The crimson coloring of them were gone, replaced by the glazed over look that only a blind man could give- a blind man with a white as snow Sharingan.

And Itachi looked directly at me. He was blind but he looked right at me with those white, un-blinking eyes. He took a single step forward and my head snapped back reflexively. But Itachi stopped there, his eyes still staring right into mine, he reached out his blood coated hand as if trying to grab something and suddenly tightened as Itachi's face twisted in a nameless rage- a single word left his mouth.

"_Fugaku_."

The glazed over Sharingan vanished the same instant Itachi collapsed to the ground.

XXXXXXX

**To Be Continued….**


	11. Deadly Deceit

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 11: Deadly Deceit**_

**Just wanted to say I apologize ahead of time for the shortness of this chapter, its purpose is to finish off this plotline without giving **_**too **_**much away. Read Review Rejoice!**

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shibi _

Kunai and shuriken blades fell down like rain; it was almost too much for me to keep my destruction beetles spinning around us to deflect the blades and yet still some managed to slip through the swarm, only to come in contact with Hizashi's gentle fist attack as he danced around my slowly moving form. Yet I could see that my Hyuga companion was beginning to wear down, the wounds in his legs had stopped bleeding thanks to my insects but I knew his muscles would still be stiff and sore for a long time to come. And every time the shinobi slowed down I noticed more of the blades were slipping through my shield, we were both at our limits.

"Aburame sir!" Hizashi called after awhile as he continued to use his fists to re-direct the kunai, "I request… that we change… our tactics a bit!"

"Explain," I ordered quickly, my mind momentarily forming a blank as to how to escape our current predicament; our attacker seemed to have an endless amount of chakra.

"I have been…watching our foe…from time to time…for awhile now…and…" Hizashi then purposefully knocked a few of the kunai away while letting some sink into him, the ones that made contact simply puffed into a cloud of smoke. I gasped with quick realization.

_So our enemy has his weaknesses too…_

It was time now, my plan that had been long ago forgotten now resurfaced; this fight was over.

"Hizashi, break off from combat and stand behind me!" I called, placing Neji gently on the ground, his father was quick to oblige as he leapt from his position and landed smoothly beside me, the kunai that hit the dirt where his feet used to be all puffed out of existence.

"Shibi…what?-." Hizashi gasped only to fall to his knees groaning from both pain and exhaustion, his Byakugan quickly vanishing with him, "I should… have noticed… his tactics… sooner."

"You did fine Hyuga Hizashi," I argued, "Now rest with your son and leave the rest to me."

"As you command…Shibi…" Hizashi said before passing out entirely. I glanced over at the two Hyuga's lying on the ground together before commanding the insects that were inside Hizashi's body to exit and surround the two and, using a small fraction of my remaining chakra, my beetles morphed themselves into the look of two stones on the ground. It wasn't much, but I'd be damned if I was going to lose those two now.

I then turned my attention back to the darkness that still surrounded me. I was slightly perplexed as to why I wasn't chocking on the very air I breathed being that I had lost the control of my chakra breathing some time ago but I didn't dwell on it. My destruction beetles where humming violently in my body now. My plan was beginning to unfold. The final showdown was about to take place.

I raised my arms slowly. The beetles in my body where shaking in anticipation now, already piling into my shoulder cavities waiting for the feast. _Craving _it. I knew now that my enemy was trying to charge at me directly, I didn't need to see him to know it. Yet still I waited, my beetles began to hectically swarm in my arms. It was painful, but an exhilarating kind of pain. Yet still I waited, it had to be precise, it had to be accurate.

I closed my eyes.

_3…_

_2…_

_1..._

"Die Aburame!"

"_**Release!"**_

My beetles suffice to say, exploded from my arms before I could even call out my order, swooping upwards and backwards and sailing directly into my attacker; crushing into his airborne body with a deafening _thud_ before sending him screaming back into the darkness.

I collapsed to the ground, holding my now shaking hands in front of my face. I couldn't see them but from the smell of blood and the severe amount of pain they were producing I knew the force of my insects had actually pierced through the skin in my hands, perhaps even the entire skin of my palms by the feel of it.

I couldn't help but laugh shakily in my attempts to ward of the intense pain. I had never pushed my insects to such extremes before. Both severe deprivation of chakra and the scent of three female beetles. I clenched my fists tightly and cried out in agony, trying to dull pain with more pain.

Aburame beetles leave their hosts as pure chakra at first before becoming their original forms, they do not do it on purpose, it is a trait they develop the moment their eggs are laid in a newborn baby. Even if all beetles were released at the same time their chakra would cause no harm to the host physically. I visibly shuddered at that thought. There was only a fraction of my insects when I released them that time…if I had released the entire swarm in that nature my enemy would not have been the only fatality.

Yet before I could dwell any deeper I impossibly saw a flash of light in the endless darkness. I turned my face to it only to find my arms suddenly in my vision as the painful blow fell into them instead of into my skull. I blinked once before the blow of the punch rocked up into the flaring nerves in my palms and I was forced to once again cry out in pain.

"Well, well Shibi, it seems even without your little bugs your reflexes are as commendable as ever." A voice unlike any I had heard tonight spoke admiringly, "And yet…"

I gritted my teeth as he dug what felt like his fingertips deeper into my arms, the pain shooting directly into my already destroyed palms.

"It seems that the veins and capillaries in your arms and hands have already made you quite the _sensitive_ target."

The pressure points in my arms were released only to be replaced with what could only be the man's leg as he sent a mind-numbing kick to my arms, sending me off of my feet and into the dirt. This time the pain was so great I couldn't even register it in my head; I could only remain with my back on the ground, numb and defeated.

"Oh my, did I destroy some brain cells that time?" The man kindly taunted laughing softly to himself as he walked over to me, "If only you could see yourself now, you look just like your little runt did before he kicked the bucket too."

I felt a coldness drop into the pit of my stomach. I tried my best not to show it in my face but somehow I knew he could see it.

"Ahh, the great Stoic Shibi, ruler of the Aburame clan, is now groveling on the ground before me in both a weak physical _and _mental state; I must say that this is my lucky night!"

I felt the man's footsteps echo in the earth as he approached me, using the very last scrap of oh my chakra to listen. Closer…closer…

_There!_

"Hizashi, now!" I called out and a moment later the unseen log that was laying beside us instantly transformed into a raging, bloody Leaf shinobi at the exact same time I knew the form of a similar looking ninja turned back into a piece of wood hidden by what looked very close to being a rock.

The man was caught off guard, as I knew he would, and he could only turn just in time to see the Hyuga crash into him and also using the very last scrap of his chakra to send four jabs of his gentle fist into the man's shoulder's and calves. Yet what I didn't expect was Hizashi still having enough energy to grab the now paralyzed man by his shoulders and throw him up and over the Hyuga's head and falling back to the ground in a lifeless heap.

"That was…quite the plan…Shibi…" Hizashi gasped, I could see his form still standing, though barely, he began to take a step towards me, "Do you think…-."

But I was never to hear his question, for out of nowhere a great force suddenly erupted from the blackness, the smoke dispersing around his dark cloaked body. Yet this time it didn't matter that I could see our enemy, it didn't matter that I knew he was going for the killing blow with his kunai out and ready, or that it was Hizashi he was directing himself to.

I could only watch with a numbed body and mind as the dark figure plowed into Hizashi, sending the both of them sliding until Hizashi hit a tree with a deafening thud. The figure remained against Hizashi for only a moment before the Hyuga let out a great gasp of pain, his eyes looking over the dark man's shoulder and focusing directly at me.

And I only stared back. Into the eyes of the man who had risked his life to protect me. I saw a single wet trail escape from the shinobi's eyes before his Byakugan suddenly turned gray and vanished from his sight for the final time.

I lost my voice for only a few seconds. It was when the dark clothed man stepped away from Hizashi's body and I saw the kunai in the Hyuga's stomach, sticking him so that his body was still hanging against the great oak, its trunk stained red and his feet dangling a few feet from the ground that I found my voice…and lost my mind.

"**Hizashi!!" **I cried out, no longer caring about my pain, I rose from the ground on shaking legs, Hizashi's murderer remained still, his face concealed by his large black hood, I pointed a bloody finger towards him. **"You'll pay for this! I swear it!"**

In response the cloaked man pulled out a new kunai, cold and gleaming, ready to join its brother in a blood bath. Yet I still didn't care, my mind was consumed with hate and anger, if that kunai was going to be the end I was going to make _damn_ sure to take his owner with me!

"You're only warding off the inevitable you know." The same tauntingly proper voice from before said from behind me.

In my fury I didn't even consider the risk as I looked behind me only to see what looked like nothing more than a common villager, only he was old, fat, and had a full grown, un-kempt beard, the voice didn't match his look at all. In the strange man's arms was who could only be the unconscious body of the first attacker, his face was hidden from me by the way the large man held him on his shoulder but I recognized my beetle's attacks by his immensely torn clothes and the extreme paleness of the skin on his hands.

"You are going to die here, just like your friend …just like your son."

His voice may not have matched the body but the superior, knowing smile that he gave me right then I knew would be the same with any face he hid behind.

I look a shaking step towards him. I knew I couldn't win. I knew that even before I could reach him I would most likely be cut down by Hizashi's murderer. I took another step and almost blacked out on the spot, but still I refused to care, I pushed on.

The man's smile quickly vanished as he watched me approach and he gently laid down the other man from his shoulder.

"Shibi, do not make me do this," the bulky man said, he pointed out the fingers of his right hand and what could only be pure chakra began to pool out of it, forming a sharp knife shape around his hand, "I honestly have no desire to kill you."

As I continued to walk I heard a faint rustle of movement from behind me but I no longer had the energy or desire to look. It wouldn't matter anyways; when the man behind me decided to strike I'd be dead. End of story.

The villager looked over my shoulder, at the dark man behind me, and quickly raised a halting hand with his non-energized left.

"Be calm, comrade," the villager urged, "That does not mean we won't finish our mission tonight."

I was almost on him, just a few feet more. I reached out my hand in attempts to grasp him, choke him, punch him, _anything._ Though the man turned his attention back to me at the last second and, with the same smile as before, vanished.

I barely had time to be surprised before I saw a familiar glowing blueness now pointing its razor sharp edges towards my neck. The man placed his meaty hand on my shoulder, holding my arms in place.

"You will die this night," he whispered from behind me in my ear, "Both you and I know this, just as your son had to, but what of your dear wife Amarante? Or the rest of your clan? What's stopping us from wiping the Abruame clan from the face of existence?"

I tried to fight back; I didn't want to hear this. I was already in enough pain, why wouldn't he just end this. My rage was swiftly dwindling away into hopelessness, I was finished, I was not going to be able to avenge Hizashi. The man tightened his grip against my fading struggle, inducing more pain into my arms and palms; I could feel my eyes begin to water.

"I'll tell you what's stopping us…_nothing." _He then twisted my arms into the point of almost nothingness; I was beginning to see red. He pushed me onto my knees as I felt my bones slowly began to crack under the extreme pressure, the pain was almost immeasurable, "If we desired we could head straight to your clan right at this moment and murder your wife in her sleep."

I could feel them now, with my face in the dirt and my arms twisted and held in the most painful of positions, the tears. My skin tingled at their unnatural feeling as they streamed down my face. My tormentor laughed as he heard the sound of my sobbing, I almost missed it in all the agony.

"Mmm, the sound of an Aburame's tears, I never thought I'd hear that sound…" the man then paused before laughing coldly, "At least from an _adult _Aburame."

"**Get on with it!" **A deep, menacing voice growled, I could only guess it to be the third man's, but I was starting to focus less and less, I was beginning to lose control of my senses…the world was spinning, **"If you keep pushing him he'll die before we can get **_**any **_**information."**

"Alright, alright! Pushy much?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw the man's fat face lower itself to my level, though I still felt the immense pain in my arms, "You see Shibi we _could_ kill off the rest of your clan and end its existence forever, _but_, we've decided to strike a bargain with you that I think you should listen to before your imminent demise."

The fat man's face was gone and in its place was of the taller man's feet, I did not have the energy nor the will to look up at him as he spoke in his strange, enraged tone.

"**I will make this simple for you Aburame Shibi, either you tell us the secret to your destruction beetles and how you become their hive, or after we kill you we kill every last Aburame in this world until one of them spills the truth, now, speak."**

"No." I said instantly, for I may be close to dying, and my brain may be working with less than half its power but I knew that no one was going to get information from the leader of the Aburame clan.

"**As I expected, you are worthless to us!"**

I saw the man's feet began to move towards me but before anything could happen the fat one holding me suddenly let go of my arms.

"Wait!" he declared, moving in front the dark man, "You need to reason with him more! We can't let this opportunity pass!"

"**What opportunity? We will have more willing prisoners in the future, **_**this**_** one isn't going to break with simple words and promises, he is better off simply dead as I ordered."**

The man then pushed by the villager and I saw his feet begin to approach me again. Only this time the villager threw out his energized hand and in one expert swipe slashed the back of the dark man's leg with his chakra blade. The cloaked figure let out an agonized yell that was not in his strange voice and fell to the ground.

"**Wh**at **ha**ve y**ou **d**on**e!?" the dark man cried out, his voice slipping between the now apparent guise of extreme anger to a normal angry in the tone of a vaguely familiar voice. It was in fact a _very_ familiar voice but my senses were near dead now, my arms were on fire at my sides and I was unconsciously beginning to sink to the ground.

"You'll have to forgive me _comrade_," the fat man spoke, my eyes had now failed me, again I was surrounded by blackness, "But _my _plans do not involve Shibi's premature death."

"_**Y**__o__**ur **_pl**an!? Th**is **wa**s _**my **_pl**a**n, **ho**w d**ar**e yo**u betr**ay **me!"**

"You are a pathetic excuse for a shinobi, the world does not revolve around you and your hopes for your clan, there are other factors at work here, factors that greatly go against _your _plans."

"**Do you underestimate me?" **The man now had his guise fully back and I could hear the slight rustle of his clothing through the throbbing of my arms, **"If you betray me now I will kill you, I will not allow anyone to interfere."**

I then heard the clinking of metal and what sounded like feet grinding into the dirt.

"You are weak from your genjutsu, you are _still_ becoming weaker the longer you use it, and you still wish to fight me even though you will be maintaining hold of it? Does your clan have no sense at all?"

**"If you have never fought someone with my blood limit then keep silent about your petty assumptions, my skill far surpasses your own even with only half of my chakra!"**

"Fine! Let us find out how far your ego takes you!"

The charging of feet was quickly cut off though, by the sound of what could only be described as a violent windstorm. I was knocked off the ground and slid against the power of the sudden gusts of wind, the sound was of another planet, the high pitched whistle of it all nearly caused my ears to bleed. I could feel my head began to overflow with pain; I wasn't much longer for this world.

"It's the Hokage!" the formal voice hollered over the storm, but his voice was quickly drowned by the much louder screams of people, all the sudden noise was almost too much for me, I had finally stopped rolling but now I could hear the sound of 1000 people talking, shouting, crying. It was like my once dark and silent world became suddenly penetrated.

"**Flee!" **the enraged voice roared, his voice easily breaking through the throng of screaming people and raging winds, **"He has broken through the genjutsu! And take that failure with you!"**

Then all at once the winds died, the wailing of the sudden mass of people still continued but the storm had dulled my brain slightly. I finally relaxed into the soft grass, my body now fully giving out on me. Miraculously I was still alive for this much longer but I had no strength to move, let alone seek help. So instead I remained still, waiting calmly for the inevitable slip into sleep.

Yet it took too long.

It was right at the moment of switching from reality to unconsciousness that I heard the promise whispered in my ear, the owner of the voice I did not see and he had reportedly vanished into smoke soon after but I remembered his words as clearly as I would always remember that smile.

"See you soon, Aburame Shibi."

XXXXXXX

**To Be Continued…**


	12. Long Day

**How it Feels to Hatch**

**Chapter 12:**

**Long Day**

**XXXXXXXX**

_Aburame Shino _

There were no more dreams this time. No more anything. I was sleeping, yet I also wasn't. It was dark, dark enough to assume that I was either blind or bandaged, though I wasn't even sure if my lids were opened or closed.

I was aware of myself though. I could feel the numerous aches and pains in my body, the mysterious hot spot that was now engulfing my chest. I could even feel the slight prodding of what felt like hands and fingertips occasionally on my body, though I never saw them.

I am unsure how long this lasted, but after some time I began to hear noise. Faint whispers at first but steadily growing stronger and louder as more time passed. Soon I began to make out words such as "awful" and "destruction" but I never recognized the voices or could possibly guess how those words tied in with the alternate reality I was now living in.

XXXXXX

The noise was now deafening, I could hear footsteps, ringing like gongs, ruffles of cloth sounded like an avalanche, and now the voices, I could understand the words now but they were pounding in my ears like the screech of a banshee.

"HE SEEMS DISCOMFORTED," One unfamiliar voice hollered, "DO YOU THINK HE IS FINALLY COMING TO?"

"IT WOULD APPEAR SO," A particularly high pitched squealing sound confirmed, "PERHAPS THE MEDICENE IS STARTING TO WEAR OFF."

The medicine was fine, I could still feel a deep burning in my chest but that was becoming as familiar as my own breathing, what was bothering me was these people's apparent lack of hearing. I desperately wanted to shout back at them, beg them to stop, but my lips might as well of been sown shut, for whenever I tried to force them open it didn't feel like I was doing anything at all. Even stranger was my lack of ability to form any words in my throat, I couldn't think of how it was done.

XXXXXX

Finally. The darkness was beginning to lift, I could make out blurred shapes, bright lights, almost too bright to keep my eyes open for long. I easily confirmed that I was inside some type of room, lying in some type of bed with some type of blurred shape sitting or standing next to me. Anything past that was too much of a twisted shape to make any assumptions of what it could possibly be…did I really just say that?

Was my vocabulary really _that_ advanced? I know my father had taught me many things during my short eight years of life. But again it was only eight years. On that note why am I so quiet? Aren't eight year olds supposed to be completely out of control and wild, jumping in mud, running away from girls and making adults angry? Or was I just the bad egg? Bug egg to be exact.

_Ah!_

I had to get it under control. I was unsure what that string of thoughts just was but it defiantly wasn't something I would normally think. It would defiantly be something N-

….

_NARUTO!_

Where was he? Was he okay? Was he alive? Did my jump save him? Did Kakashi save him? Where was Kakashi? Did he make it out alive in that attempt to save us from the explosion? What happened to everyone else? Hiashi? Hinata? My father?

_"WHAT IS GOING ON?"_

The instant I thought and desired to scream was the time moment I gained the ability and everything else that had been lost to me for what seemed like ages.

I sat straight up in my bed screaming, yelling bloody murder at the top of my lungs and scaring the med-shinobi who had previously been testing my vitals nearly out of his skin.

"Holy shit!" he cried out very un-medical like, jumping back a whole three feet and the sound of falling papers filled the room, the sound for once not heightened ten-fold.

When my scream finally left me and I regained control of my emotions I attempted to look over at him and apologize only to find blinding light greet me instead. I quickly closed my eyes and threw up a hand in reflex, trying to keep the burning brightness away from my corneas.

"W-what's wrong?" The med-shinobi asked hesitantly, probably wondering if I was going to eat him now.

"Glasses." I croaked out, my voice sounded like my throat was sanded by numerous pieces of…well sand paper, at least that's how thirsty I felt. "And water…please."

It was quiet for a few moments before my doctor finally spoke up, "O-of course Mr. Shino sir, I'll get those for you right away!"

I waited for the retreating footsteps to disappear before burying my head under a pillow, finally allowing my eyes to open once I was inside the comforting darkness. As soon as I was free from the blinding light I allowed my mind a minute to relax before trying to figure out what truly was going on.

Though I didn't get far before I heard a procession of more footsteps and a very angry voice shouting as the sound of my door opening echoed in the room.

"How long has he been awake?" Yet another unfamiliar voice snapped as the sound of my door slamming once again rang in the tiny room.

"H-he only just now awoke Haruno sir," I heard my med-shinobi from just a moment ago reply meekly.

"And the first thing you do is grab him a glass of water?" Haruno cut in, "How do we know he's not in a critical state and in dire need of medical attention? He could be dead at this very moment because of your lack of brains!"

As I heard the other med-shinobi gasp and I chose this moment to at least remove the pillow covering my head, keeping a hand over my sensitive eyes, to show the both of them that I was perfectly fine.

"S-see sir, h-he's still alive…"

"That is irrelevant; a med-shinobi does not rely on chance or hope when it comes to another life, you have a brain now use it next time a patient awakens from being in a coma for a week."

"Y-yes Haruno sir…"

I flinched slightly when I felt a rough hand press against my forehead.

"You are still running a fever slightly and from the blood it looks like your wound could use some new bandages."

The hand released itself from my forehead, "Now if you will lie down for me I will check to make sure everything else is in proper order, and keep your hand away from your face."

I laid myself down properly enough but I was reluctant to remove my hand, even with my eyes shut I could still feel the brightness of the lights trying to penetrate my hand, I knew my eyelid's wouldn't hold off the pain by themselves.

"Come now son I don't have much time!" Haruno ordered, "Place your arm down beside you so I can look over the rest of you."

"H-Haruno sir…he is one of the Aburame, I think he will be more comfortable and be able to comply better with these…"

The room was silent for a moment before Haruno made some sort of confirming grunt, "Very well then, place them on him so we can finish this up."

"Yes sir, here you are Shino sir."

I let out an involuntary sight when I felt the soothing grip of the glasses as they sunk down into my face; I slowly opened my eyes and was now greeted with many different sights at once.

The one I guessed to be Haruno was standing next to my bedside, he had long pink hair that hung around his shoulders, familiar looking sky-blue eyes, and a face that had an aggravated impatience look to it as he looked down on me. The other med-shinobi who looked like he was in his teens, was now standing beside the door behind Haruno, his eyes covered by long black bangs with a distinctable bandage going over his nose and wrapping around his face.

"Now lie still," Haruno ordered again as he held his hands mid-air above my body. I did so this time, even closing my eyes to relax further. It was silent again for a short stretch of time before I heard Haruno let out a collective sigh. I opened my eyes to see him already standing up and making his way to the door.

"Kotetsu, make sure the boy is well treated and kept _alive_ while I'm gone, the Hokage must learn about this immediately."

"Yes, Haruno sir," Kotetsu said, bowing low as Haruno passed him and exited the room, though once the footsteps faded away the teen straightened back up with an irritated sigh.

"I don't know if you can tell but that guy drives me crazy," Kotetsu said, scratching at a spot underneath his bandage, "I seriously can't wait until I pass the Chuunin exams so I can get out of this place, I just don't have a thing for this medical stuff, way too boring."

He then turned to face me, "So, Shino, how are you feeling?"

"Fine," I replied back hoarsely.

"Oh!" Kotetsu exclaimed grabbing a large glass of water from the table next to him, "Here is that water you wanted, sorry about that."

I chugged down the glass, letting the cool liquid simmer in my throat before swallowing, it was the best drink I have ever had in my entire short years of life.

"Its fine," I finally replied, relinquishing the empty glass back to Kotetsu, "What's happened?"

"Hm? Oh, you heard about it to?" the teen quirked as the set the glass back down and turned to face me.

"Only a few things before I woke up," I clarified, "Everything before now is just really a big blur."

"Yeah a direct hit in the heart from a kunai blade will do that to you," Kotetsu said with a smile.

A nurse came in just then and with quick expert practice changed out my dirty bandages and checked my vitals on a large clipboard. Kotetsu seemed to have been trying to make eye contact with her the whole time but he might as well of been air.

"So is everything feeling alright? Do you feel light-headed, woozy, or anything of the nature?" She asked me after she was done.

"No ma'am," I quickly replied, eager to be rid of her so I could get my answers out of Izumo.

"Hey, you do know that I'm looking out for him today right?" Kotetsu tried to cut in, "You don't need to be asking all these questions."

The nurse turned on him with a face of great annoyance, "I'm terribly sorry _sir _but here we don't allow guests to be the doctors, now if you please-."

"Guest!?" Kotetsu interrupted, "Mushi, it's me, Kotetsu, I _work_ here!"

The nurse did a double take; her eyes blinked, once…twice, "Oooooooh Kotetsu! I'm so sorry! I keep doing this to you don't I? What's it been…the 3rd time this week?"

"The 5th," Kotetsu said in a defeated tone.

"Oh, well sorry again, I'll leave Mr. Aburame in your very capable hands then! Have a great day!"

When she left Kotetsu sunk into the chair beside my bed and rubbed a hand under his bangs and over his eyes.

"I don't know whether she is just dumb or I'm just about as helpful to this place as a virus."

XXXXXXX

It took some time to get the talkative teen to focus back on my questions, but eventually he had calmed down enough after talking about girls, work, and family for nearly ten minutes to finally explain to me what had happened during the week I was out, and from the look on his face it wasn't a pleasant one.

"I guess for starters I should tell you that the Hyuga and Uchiha clans have officially left the village," Kotetsu stated as he lazily rubbed his nose under the bandage. Though the statement left me dumbfounded.

"They're…gone?" Was all I could think to say. Hiashi… Hinata… Sasuke… I wasn't ever going to see them again?

"Surprised?" the teen asked with a raised eyebrow, "After that fiasco during the Hyuga's annual Flower Festival Hiashi didn't believe Konoha to be a safe place for his precious clan to live in anymore, you know their heiress, Hyuga Hinata, was almost killed during the raid."

I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my face and I was forced to swallow when a heavy lump began to form in my throat…Hinata…

"Did they say where they were going?" I asked feebly

"Are you kidding me? They left the next night without even a wave goodbye," Kotetsu let out a sigh, running a hand through his long spiky hair, "Normally I wouldn't agree with such an important clan just bailing out on us like that but I think it was a little more of a personal reason for Hiashi, you see his twin, Hyuga Hizashi, he died during the night, killed by one of the raiders, even his son, Neji, went missing, no one knows if he's alive or dead."

I closed my eyes, the more I heard the less I desired to have my questions answered, but I had to know, for as soon as I left this hospital I would find out anyway so I suppose it would be best hearing it from this underage doctor and getting the surprise and pain over with. Though it was perhaps best to start from the less sensitive subjects…

"Why did the Uchiha clan leave?"

Kotetsu was silent for a moment, and for the first time since meeting him I saw a look of pure hatred over-come his features, "If you ask me they left because they are a bunch of spineless cowards who only care about themselves and their special eye jutsu's."

He then quickly shook his head as if to free any dark thoughts before turning back to me with a sad smile spread across his face, "But asking the public probably wouldn't give much difference, you see after that night many people suspected Uchiha involvement, they have always had a bad reputation for doing anything to prove themselves superior, their grudge against the Aburame clan for example, and well I guess all the suspicion was a little too much for comfort, the Uchiha left the village a couple of days ago much the same way of the Hyuga, fled during the night and without a trace or hope of ever seeing them again." Kotetsu paused for a second before letting out a small chuckle, "Well lack of hope if we're talking about the Uchihas."

"And the Hyugas?" I couldn't keep myself from asking, couldn't keep myself from thinking about her, "Do you think we will ever see them again?"

"It's hard to say," Kotetsu admitted, scratching his chin, "Their clan can be a stubborn lot when they reach a decision, but before that night I believe they really thought Konoha to be the perfect place for them to raise their clan, so who knows, maybe in a few years after things die down they will think of Konoha as a suitable place once again."

I sunk my head further into the soft pillow, closing my eyes behind my familiar shades. Years…years without being able to see Hinata, without hearing her stuttering voice, without gazing at that warm blush…

"Hey, I bet your dying to know how your dad and your friends turned out though eh?"

I felt my eyes snap open the same instant my door burst open again, though before I could even look I heard a squeal of high-pitched delight.

"Oh my little konchuu! Your okay your okay!" my very excited mother cried out as she rushed towards me, knocking over Kotetsu and the chair he was sitting in clear on the floor, she then engulfed me in a earth shattering hug which caused me to gasp painfully as the burning in my chest sky-rocketed.

"Mrs. Aburame I must warn against any over physical affection! Shino is still in a very critical state!" Kotetsu quickly took charge as he stood back up. With a slight gasp my mother released me and I was allowed to fall back down into my bed.

"Oh I'm so sorry my little darling, my baby! It's just I thought…we all thought that you were…" my mother, confident, smart, Aburame Amarante chocked on her words as the tears began to flow, "I- I'm just so happy that your alive my little angel!"

Not being able to keep from me she then grasped my tiny hand, nearly squeezing it to death, yet I let her without complaint, for despite the uncomfortable and emotional atmosphere she was producing I had to admit it felt a lot better to have her in this room with me and that she was someone I _knew _was alive and well within the Konoha borders.

"How are you feeling?" she asked me softly, stroking the hand she was holding with her free one.

"I feel fine mother," I said, reassuring her with a pat on one of her hands, "Kotetsu's sensei checked my vitals and he had just left to inform the Hokage."

"That's wonderful honey," my mother said, her eyes never leaving my face, I wasn't even sure if she heard me.

Kotetsu cleared his throat, I looked over to see him standing rather uncomfortably to one side, playing with the skin under his bandage again, "Err, I think I'll make my way out for now, find me sometime later if you need any more questions answered Shino!"

And before I could even open my mouth in thanks he was gone, vanishing in speeds that could have matched an expert teleportation jutsu. Seems that touching family reunions weren't exactly his thing.

XXXXXX

It was silent in my hospital room for a very long time. My mother had taken up the seat Kotetsu had recently resided in and seated herself firmly beside me, her hand never letting go of mine. She began stroking my hair, humming as she did so, I closed my eyes. The tune was familiar; I still remembered it from when she used to sing to me when I was an infant.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that but I had apparently fallen asleep because I was stirred back awake when I felt my mother let go of my hand. I peeked my eyes open behind my shades to see her looking down into her lap, her face twisted in an ugly form of despair. I was about to reach out my hand and ask her what was wrong but she spoke up before I could move.

"Your father isn't doing too well," she said, still not looking up from her lap, "He's…in some form of a comma…just like you were…only…," My mother started to choke up just then, but again before I could do anything she took back control and continued.

"He has no pulse rate and he isn't breathing, in all medical reasoning your father should be dead."

So many things happened at once. My burning heart plummeted into the darkest reaches of my body. My breath caught in my throat and everything else seemed to freeze as well. Like the whole world froze for a moment. I couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't think.

Though soon I could feel it, the gradual build up of my well kept emotions beginning to break and shatter through their barriers. I opened my mouth breathlessly as if they were going to explode from my body…any minute now…at any second my world was going to end…

"Lucky for us Aburame's have a habit of defying scientific reasoning," Mother suddenly added looking up at me with an oblivious little smile.

I felt my mouth close as the storm of emotions died back down inside me…for now. I let out a small _whoosh_ of air. Time sped up again.

"I'm…not sure if your father wanted me to reveal you this so soon but I believe that this qualifies as a need to know basis," my mother then looked back at the door before leaning closer to me, her voice barely over a whisper, "You see, while there may be many other clans who use the same form of insect jutsu ours is a little more special."

My mother then chose this time to stand up from her seat and walk over to the door, peeking out its tiny window. After she seemed satisfied she walked back over to me, her voice even softer now, I had to strain to hear her.

"When one of our own reaches a near death state the shinobi's body uses one last hereditary technique to save his life, the jutsu shuts down all of the ninja's main functions and puts them in a state of near-death in hopes of fooling their enemy into thinking they are dead, while the shinobi's own beetles keep him in this world by pumping their chakra into the user's soul, a technique that even the sharpest Byakugan could not detect."

I felt myself relax even further. Father was fine; he was using the secret technique to keep himself alive, everything will be alright. But then…I had to wonder…why did mother still look so troubled?

"I believe your father called it a…Blood Limit?" my mother said mostly to herself, and it was then that I noticed how much she had changed since I last saw her, something in her tone finally opened my eyes to see the messy hair, the deep circles under her eyes, the way she kept on playing with her own fingers nervously, and even the sad, soft tone she spoke in now.

"Though even with that your father is still fighting for his life…" mother then was forced to wipe the tears from her eyes, I wanted to go over to her but I feared that her seeing me in bloody bandages would only make matters worse, "Shibi…my dear sweet husband…your loving father…when he was found and taken in he was almost completely drained of his beetles, his blood limit had nearly thrown him into his death quicker."

I could already feel it again, the uprising of my overwhelming thoughts and feelings, but I forced them down, I had to wait it out, I had to hear all that my mother was going to say about the fate of her husband and my father.

"His remaining beetles did what they could…thankfully more began to trickle through the window in his room, he would be fine with just the continual stream…but the doctors also found a rare type of poison in his bloodstream, his beetles can cure it but he would need most of his swarm to be rid of it all… so for the past few days his body has been having a battle between his steadily growing insects and the poison…the doctors said only time would tell until they find out which side will…win."

My mother then sucked in a heavy sob as she wiped more tears from her eyes. It killed me to see her like this, so much so that I was forced to finally drop my eyes, giving in to my own cowardice and the pain I was beginning to feel mix in with the heat of my chest.

It was silent again for the longest time. My mother once again sat down in the chair beside me but she made no move to hold me again, and for the first time I actually felt sad about it.

"There is more…but I really don't feel it's my place, nor do I desire retelling anymore sadness right now," Mother spoke up as she laid her head down on my large bed, "I think I will leave that to Mr. Kakashi, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to tell you about Itachi and Naruto later…just for now be happy that they are alive, as I am happy that you are alive…"

It wasn't long after she stopped talking that I heard soft snores, her back slight rising and falling as she dozed. I began to brush her hair with a lighter, yet still on fire, heart, but immediately stopped when I learned of how greasy her hair had become. Instead I rested my palm on her back, perfectly happy that _she _was alive and safe and with me now.

Though I was overjoyed with the fact that two more of my close people turned out okay after what seemed like the end of the world. Though the back part of my mind had to wonder why I should be reminded that Itachi was still alive…wasn't he safe and sound at the hospital during all of this?

Well, I was sure Kakashi would be able to explain everything else next time I see him. I let out a tired yawn, watching my mom sleep would do that to you. I removed my hand from her back and sunk deeper into my bed, flinching slightly as the burning in my chest flared, before letting my now heavy eyelids sink closed.

I was about to drift off to sleep, comforted by the sounds of my dozing mother, when once again the ominous sounds of footsteps echoed outside my door. I recognized the growing voices as Haruno's and even some words from the Hokage himself. I sat up shakily from my bed, making sure I didn't disturb my mother; this was going to be a long day.

XXXXXXX

_Hatake Kakashi _

It had been such a long time since my desire to kill someone was this extreme. I sat in the seat farthest away from _his _bed, gripping the kunai knife in my hand tight enough to make my hand bleed. Yet I simply stared at _him_ through the eyeholes of my ridiculous mask, watching his relaxed bandaged face sleep soundly. The murderer.

I rose from my seat. I shouldn't stay in here, watching _him_ like this was only going to make my blood thirst rise, and I wasn't going to let it control me, not again.

Yet as soon as I opened the door to escape I was greeted with a panting ANBU, the very same one I had sent out on a special mission about a week ago. Yet I still couldn't remember his name…stupid masks.

"Kakashi sir…I discovered the…name…of the victim…found you…as soon as I could," he gasped.

"Please take a moment to catch your breath," I ordered, closing the door behind me.

"Yes sir," he waited several moments before taking in a deep breath and looked up at me, or at least I thought he did, couldn't see anything past that bird face thing, "The body you discovered, our head medical shinobi were able to use her remains to make a shadow clone, what they gathered from that we have found out that it was female and that she was a member of the Rock village…"

"You mean…Itachi did not kill one of ours?" This was not how I was expecting it to be; I felt the kunai loosen in my hands. I was being foolish, I shouldn't have let my emotions get into control, but seeing Itachi's Sharingan…

"Sir?" my fellow ANBU asked, breaking me from my spell, I _defiantly _had to get it under control.

"We had our assumptions mistaken then," I confirmed, keeping my voice solid and firm, "Itachi is no longer under assumption that he killed a Konoha resident as an Uchiha assassin, in fact it seems that an assassin was hired in an attempt to dispose of _him_ the same night the Hyuga mansion was under siege."

I let out a sigh, this was only getting more and more complicated and with both the Uchihas and Hyugas gone there seemed to be no way of ever figuring out what could have happened.

"I'm going to inform the Hokage of his new development," I decided, voicing it aloud to the other ANBU, while already beginning to make my way down the hall, "Keep the medical shinobi monitored until we find out a name of the assassin, and until that happens make sure none of our own decide to go on a little private scouting party, I'd rather not have any more serious casualties happen to our village until this week is over."

"Yes sir!" the young ANBU saluted before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

I walked in silence down the rest of the hall, past bustling nurses and angry doctors, down more stairs, through another hallway and out the front door when it hit me.

"Oh yeah, his name was Izumo…"

XXXXXX

**To Be Continued…**


	13. My Closest Friend

**Just wanted to take up a few words really fast to thank everyone for the millionth time for all the reviews! I've been trying to answer questions via sending private messages but as I'm unsure if they are actually going through I'll start answering them through my chapters' soooooo**

_**Baby Cougar**_**: Izumo is the chuunin who is always seen with the guy who has spiky black hair and that bandage over his nose, Izumo himself has the long brown hair that's always covering one of his eyes**

_**Anlynn**_**: that is actually a very good idea but since I don't want you to copyright me I'll think of something else lol**

_**Megi52**_**: he isn't dead…yet! mwhahaha**

_**Voievoda**_**: thank you very much for the compliment! But if there's anything your confused about in particular let me know and I'll try to clear it up for you**

**Thanks again guys and everyone else for reading and reviewing! Hope ya'll continue to enjoy.**

_**XXXXXX**_

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 13: My Closest Friend**_

_**XXXXXX**_

_Aburame Shino _

**The first day I had awoken was the longest of my entire life.**

The group was silent as they entered my room, though I swore the commotion they produced merely seconds ago sounded like a looming storm. One by one they filed in quietly, Kotetsu, Haruno, Mushi, the Hokage, and oddly a girl around my age with bright pink hair, I faintly recognized her as Sakura, one of the many who idolized Sasuke.

"Hello, Aburame Shino," the Hokage greeted me with a warm smile, "So good to finally see you again."

"Likewise, Hokage sir," I replied, bending my head slightly, yet as soon as my head lifted I wanted to jump right into the questions, the Hokage _had _to know about Naruto, he _had _to know about the fate of my friend, and despite my fears of the outcome I _had_ to ask…

"Mushi," Haruno spoke up before I could think of how to start, his eyes were focused on my dozing mother, "Remove Mrs. Aburame for the time being."

"Yes, sir!" the nurse quickly complied, stepping beside my mother and gently nudging her shoulders she whispered, "Ma'am I must escort you to your home for the time being."

My mother's head faintly stirred against my bed sheets, "But…Shino…my son…," she mumbled as she shakily rose from the bed with assistance from Mushi.

"Your son will be just fine," Haruno affirmed, the strain on his face evident in his attempt to be comforting, "We will send someone to bring you back after some matters are cleared."

My mother didn't reply but Mushi slowly walked her out of the room anyways. I watched them leave with a furrowed brow; I didn't want to be separated from my mother after being away for what seemed like an eternity, but I could clearly see that her body was desperate for sleep, and it seemed that for whatever purpose this group has gathered it would deprive her of that.

The room was quiet as the footsteps slowly died away but as soon as they did the Hokage spoke up, walking beside me.

"I have taken every precaution to make sure your mother is safe," he said, looking deep into my eyes through my glasses, I had to fight to hold his powerful gaze, "From what we have gathered over the days you and your family were a few of the main targets during confusion of the raid…aren't most of your clan spread out around the country?"

The question caught me off guard and I had to think awhile to remember what my father had told me so long ago.

"Yes…it happened long before I was born," I said slowly, trying to recall everything I could, "Our clan fought hard with a fellow bug using clan during a war involving Konoha, we succeeded in defeating them, thus earning a place in the village, Aburame Shinji, who was the clan leader at the time, ordered my father to raise a small family in the village itself while the rest of the clan left and acted as a massive scouting party for the village, my father's home became the Aburame's main base after Shinji passed on."

"That's very…thought out," Kotetsu commented, sitting in a chair beside a window, "Though don't you guys ever miss each other?"

I simply shrugged, I never thought about it, considering I've never met another clan member in my lifetime.

"Such is the Aburame lifestyle," the Hokage commented with a light smile, but it quickly faded as he gained back his serious tone, "My reason for asking is to bring up the fact that some members of your clan have decided to return to the village, they wish to both protect their clan heir and to root out the people responsible."

It was silent once again after that; they were most likely waiting from some kind of response from me. Yet as I told them before I had never met any of my fellow clan members, therefore, I couldn't exactly decide what to feel upon hearing this sudden turn of events. I still desperately wanted to ask the Hokage of the fate of my friend.

"Who exactly is coming?" I finally asked, feeling that, for now, the polite thing to do would continue with the pressing matters.

"Just a small squad of about five," the Hokage answered, "We don't know much about the three chuunin, but their leader is your very own uncle, Aburame Shiro."

"Ah," was all I could think to see, I never even knew I had an uncle, my father had never mentioned him to me before.

At that instant Haruno actually chuckled, a noise that sounded very strange in my ears coming from such a stern man.

"The Aburame clan surely lives up to their reputation," the head med-nin said with an amused smirk, "The boy doesn't even seem to be aware that he had a family beyond his father and mother."

"Well if they're anything like _my _family I'd say that's a good thing," Kotetsu said under his breath, though the words stuck a familiar bell in my subconscious.

"How is Shikamaru?" I asked out of the blue and after a seconds pause, "And Naruto? How are my friends?"

A faint of a smile spread across the Hokage's glance, he gave Haruno a sideways look, "And then again Haruno, Shino is a special case when it comes to Aburame's."

Haruno simply returned the teasing with a slight nod before fixing his cold blue eyes back on me, his natural stern features made me fear the worst before he even spoke, yet before he could tell me anything the pink-haired girl, Sakura, spoke up for the first time.

"I saw Shikamaru yesterday," She said, slightly moving behind Haruno's legs when all of our eyes suddenly fell on her, "A-and he already knew what happened…he looked scared."

"And Naruto?" I asked, my attention completely fixed on the young girl now, I could tell she knew something when she didn't immediately reply, "Is he ok?"

The silence stretched on for what seemed like forever as I glared at the girl and Sakura in turn buried her face deeper into Haruno's knees. The latter finally broke through it with a slight cough.

"I think what my daughter is _trying_ to say is that Naruto was placed in a hospital room the same night you were, his damage was minor compared to you or your mothers, simple cuts and fractures, yet even so the boy healed a lot quicker than any of us anticipated and the minute he awoke all he would ask is how you were, at the time we didn't reveal much as it looked that you were close to… well…"

"The _important_ thing is that both you and Naruto are fine and that you will make a full recovery in a matter of weeks," The Hokage broke in, he then gave me the biggest smile I had ever seen a man give, "And I will make sure Naruto will be scheduled to see his dear friend soon."

I blushed with embarrassment at the great Hokage's words, even more so when he gave me a slight pat on the head.

"Well I wish I could stay longer but unfortunately a Hokage's work is never done," he announced, making his way out the door but he paused at the doorway and looked back at me one final time, "And I will be sending Kakashi in occasionally to keep you updated on both your father's health and when your clan arrive to the village."

I gave the Hokage another small nod, the previously forgotten burning in my chest flaring painfully for a second.

Thank you Hokage sir," I said, raising my head after I made sure the pain was hidden from my exposed face, "For everything."

"Anytime Aburame Shino," the Hokage said and with a little wave vanished through the door.

I barely relaxed myself back into my bed when Haruno stepped slightly towards me, Sakura still hiding behind his legs, Kotetsu stood up as well.

"Now, before we take our leave I will inform you that a long with Kakashi I shall be having Kotetsu check up on you from time to time to monitor your health and to, as it were, keep you company, as it seems my bright pupil has decided to once again to break the first code of the med-nin and form a close tie with you, his patient."

At this Haruno have his pupil a stern look, Kotetsu merely averted his gaze, staring at the ceiling. He scratched under his bandage as a sheepish smile spread across his face.

"And as the Hokage said you'll be off the bed and ready to walk with crutches in a matter of weeks," Haruno continued, looking back at me, his face now impossibly serious-er, "Until that time however you shall _not leave this bed_, doing so could ruin your body permanently and thus any chances of becoming a true shinobi, that is if you should even survive such an experience."

"Hey, hey now I think he gets the picture don't you?" Kotetsu interjected, possibly noticing the slight new shade of paleness to my face, though he quickly shut his mouth when his mentor shot him another death glare.

"Very well," Haruno said, turning around, "Get your sleep Mr. Aburame, come along Sakura, Kotetsu."

The three then exited my room as well, Sakura giving me one last look before hurrying out after her father followed by a wink and friendly wave from Kotetsu. Then, I was alone.

I sighed deeply, laying my head further into the soft pillow and finally allowing the exhaustion of my body to take over. Yet too late did I realize that, while slipping into the darkness of sleep I was reminded yet again of a close person whose life could be in peril. Someone who had saved me from death before and now would suffer for it for the rest of his life…if it wasn't already over…

Where was he…?

How was he…?

What happened to…

XXXXXX

_Itachi_

**I almost wanted to laugh at my stupidity. Laugh until the joyous outbursts robbed me of breath and suffocated me. **

I was afraid when I awoken. For the first time in my life I was scared. I had awoken in complete darkness, everywhere around me. I could feel my eyelids, they were open yet the dark still pervaded, shrouding everything from my view. Where were the familiar greens of Konoha's wildlife? Where were the faces of all of its inhabitants?

Then it hit me…again.

Oh right, I'm blind.

The aggravation welled up at the same moment my fear died. My body and mind continued to fail and disappoint me.

Yet I pushed such dark thoughts aside for now. Yes I was blind, still, but where was I? Was I still in the same hospital room? Was anyone else hurt by my nurse that wasn't a nurse? Is anyone alive? Was I forgotten? I could be lying in the ruins of my own village and not even know it…

And yet…

I smelt no burning landscape, no dead corpses. In fact, the smells that pervaded my senses were fairly familiar to what I had been subjected to in my own hospital room before my assassination attempt. Yet again, some things were different.

It was quieter now. In my old room I could always hear the voice of the doctors, the pounding of their rapped footsteps, day in and day out. Though now it was as silent as the night I was to be killed.

Another oddity was the complete lack of feeling I had in any of my body from the neck down, for a moment I pictured my decapitated head simply lying on a pillow still conscious, but that was just another dark thought I pushed aside.

After a few moments of thought I concluded that either I was still in too much shock to feel any pain, for I knew a great deal had befallen my fragile body that night, or I was heavily medicated to avoid feeling anything, which would mean I was still being looked after.

If that was the case I couldn't help but wish they'd stop bothering, whoever they were. If I had any use without my eyes that was now gone with the total lack of a body. I was simply a conscious vegetable, only good for sucking up air and stealing food, suffice to say if I could still even chew and swallow.

I let out a hallow groan, which felt strange as I could not tell if my chest had reacted at all to my lungs or not. I shut my eyes again, not that it really mattered if I did or did not.

I thought about my nurse, my assassin. She had been the key to my liberance, the one who would dispose of both me and the shame I represented. Yet she was gone now, fled or captured, leaving behind the same man, simply battered, and not dead.

I gritted my teeth in rare anger. I wanted her to be dead now, yet, at the same time, I wanted her to be alive enough to come back and finish the job. Not that she would, I had gotten that much by the way she talked to me.

I soon let those thoughts go though, there was no point in thinking on hopes or desires, those had vanished the instant my eyes had.

A new sound entered my ears just then, it was the faint creaking noise of a door opening, I quickly realized that it was the door to whatever room I was in.

"Mr. Itachi?" a voice called softly, "Mr. Itachi are you awake?"

The voice's tone sounded like the soft, hesitant ones of a nurses, I trembled at that thought. A nurse was the last thing I wanted right now. I tried telling her to go away but all that came out of my mouth was garbled gibberish. It seems my ability to talk would take some time to return.

The nurse chuckled softly, "I'll take that as a yes,"

The door quickly closed again but I lay absolutely still until I knew for sure that she was indeed gone.

XXXXXX

_Shino Aburame_

I awoke later that night to the sight of even more desired faces. This time it was Shikamaru and his father, whose name escaped me at the time. I was overjoyed to see them yet my friend acted like he didn't care as much as his old habits would let him, even going as far as saying that his only real reason for being here was to bring me the "overly troublesome" class work I had missed over the past week.

I quickly asked about Naruto to which Shikamaru simply shrugged saying that Naruto had healed up in less than a day while in the hospital and was soon on his feet and constantly badgering the doctors about where I was or how I was doing, they had eventually had enough of him and sent him off to stay with my mother until I had recovered more.

"That Naruto is a troublesome fool, for sure," Shikamaru muttered after he explained the situation, though giving me a wink as he did.

I flashed a rare small smile in return, "Yeah, for sure,"

Before they left a few hours later he told me he would be back regularly to help catch me up with my classes, and when I noted that was a very troublesome thing of him to do he simply shrugged his shoulders saying:

"It's far less troublesome then graduating without my friend."

I couldn't ask for a more thoughtful friend.

Once his son was out of the room his father stayed back for just a few seconds to let me know he would be back tomorrow, only revealing that he had more to tell about my father when he did, leaving me with even more questions than before he and Shikamaru had even gotten inside the room.

XXXXXX

I jumped when the sound of my window creaking interrupted my day-dreaming later that night. Do to my endless hours of sleep that day I had been left with a feeling of unrestlessness, which turned out to be a very bad thing when you were unable to move almost no part of your body.

I quickly turned my attention to see the single window open, with a shadowed figure climbing its way through the opening. I almost let out a cry when the moonlight suddenly revealed the man to me, the familiar animal mask and the long white hair caused the outburst to quickly die in my throat.

"Kakashi!" I whispered, not wanting to jostle him to, yet that proved to be futile when the ANBU's head jerked in surprise causing it to collide with the top part of the window. The man grabbed the top of his head and slid the rest of his body clumsily through the window.

"Sorry," I continued when Kakashi had recovered and sat back up, "I was trying _not _to startle you."

"It's not your fault," the ANBU said waving me off while rubbing the back of his head, "It's my own smart idea of sneaking into your room that caused this."

There was a lot that I wished to talk to him about, but most importantly I wanted to thank him for risking his life to save both mine and Naruto's. By the looks of him he seemed to be alright, but who knew what secret pains lay hidden underneath that uniform.

"Funny thing actually," Kakashi answered before I could say a word of what I was thinking, "Something's been bugging me for quite awhile, so much so that I haven't been getting much sleep, I'm actually surprised I made it to your window without falling the three stories I had to climb to get here."

The ANBU then stretched his arms and legs, immediately slumping down into a chair beside my bed after he was done.

He continued to talk, though his mask was turned away from me; I assumed he was staring at the ground.

"Before I say anything further though I ask that this remains between the ANBU and yourself, the only reason I'm telling you now is because your father has already foolishly decided to adopt this man and I'm afraid your family will end up learning the hard way because of it."

He then turned his wolf mask to face me and I realized he was waiting for my agreement. I slowly nodded after a second's hesitation, keeping my mouth shut despite the new wave of questions swirling in my head. Regretfully one did slip out.

"Itachi?"

Kakashi nodded slowly, "I'm afraid so…"

"He's dead!?" I blurted before I could let my thoughts catch up with me, though before I could go any further Kakashi quickly put up a hand.

"No no no, he's not dead, severely wounded, yes, but not dead,"

I felt a familiar whoosh of air escape my tiny stressed body yet I didn't feel any relief. First my father and now Itachi looked close to death…would this ever end?

I closed my eyes behind my glasses; there was no point in holding in the questions now, "What happened?"

"There was an assassination attempt," Kakashi said without hesitation, waiting a moment for the blow to sink in, when I let out another calming breath he continued, "Itachi survived, barely, his assassin however, wasn't so lucky…"

Kakashi's words died so quickly that I was forced to open my eyes. The ANBU once again had his face turned away from me; his fingers were nervously playing with each other.

"Itachi killed him?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"In a matter of speaking yes," Kakashi answered and once again he turned to me, only this time, even with the mask, I could _feel_ his fear, I could smell the sweat building up on his hidden forehead, "Shino, listen to me well when I say this, and I cannot be any more serious with you, Itachi is _dangerous_."

Kakashi waited for me again but I could offer him no recovery for I felt no blow. What did he mean by dangerous? Itachi is blind…

"Shino," he said my name again, I wished he would stop, "Itachi is still just as powerful as he was when he could see, even more so now."

"What are you talking about?" I finally interrupted, "That is impossible, Itachi can't-."

Yet my words fled from my mouth when Kakashi suddenly reached across my bed and grabbed my shoulders, his grip tight.

"I said _listen to me!_" the elite shinobi hissed, his shadowed white mask covering my field of vision entirely, "I saw him the night I brought you and Naruto to this hospital, the hospital itself was dark and deserted, not a soul could be found, kind of strange when this hospital should be alive and active 24/7 don't you think?"

When I made no instant reply Kakashi's grip thankfully loosened but he made no move to step away from me, instead his mask leaned in closer and his voice got softer.

"It was Itachi who did it! I asked one of the doctors the next day when I had awoken in a bed of my own and he said that last night the hospital was as busy as ever! Itachi was using his sharingan without even realizing it; during his time with the assassin Itachi's sharingan had a mind of its own, silently using both its and Itachi's abilities while waiting for the perfect time to…"

Kakashi leaned back this time, his hand rubbing the mask's forehead.

"H-how is that even possible?" I managed to get out of my stunned mind, I still remembered how powerful Itachi was with his eyes, if he was even more powerful without them…

"Sadly that is what I'm trying to figure out as well," the ANBU meagerly replied, standing back up now, "We're keeping a close eye on him until he becomes conscious enough to answer questions, it is top priority that we learn how much his new powers will endanger our village."

"He is not a _danger_," I said before I could stop myself, yet once it was out I didn't let it stop, the memories of Itachi's sacrifice never leaving my head, "He was just defending himself, does it really matter in what way he did it? No innocent villagers were hurt, no laws had been broken, in fact, it might actually be a _good_ thing that Itachi has these capabilities, if he wanted to I'm sure an exiled Uchiha with abilities far exceeding previous Uchihas would greatly add to our village's defense ranks."

There was a long moment of silence that followed, Kakashi probably as stunned by my sudden outburst as I was, yet I didn't regret a single word.

"You didn't see what I-."

"It doesn't matter," I interrupted before Kakashi could say another word, "I'm sure if my father was here he would agree with me when I say that we still hold on to our deal of making Itachi an Aburame, we will learn more of his _dangers_ then."

Again silence followed my words and it was then that I wished my thoughts would leave me be, I wasn't used to taking authority in a situation, and I certainly didn't like it. Yet not as much as I liked hearing Itachi being considered a threat.

Kakashi suddenly chuckled just then, catching me by surprise as I figured I had greatly insulted him with my last few outbursts.

"I have to say I never thought I'd live to see an Aburame's anger, even more so for it to be directed at _me_," and despite the teasing tone Kakashi bowed low to me, causing me to turn away in embarrassment.

"Please, forgive me," I said quickly, "I do not know what came over me, I shouldn't have-."

"No apologies, I beg of you," Kakashi said with another careless wave of the hand, "If you really care for Itachi that much then I really need not say anything more of the matter, I just thought it right to warn you after…after what I saw."

I didn't allow the silence to drag long that time.

"What _did_ you see?" I asked, still firm in my belief that Itachi was not a danger, but curious none the less.

Yet as an answer Kakashi simply walked over to me and patted my shoulder softly, only once he had finished his hand didn't move. Instead the man lowered his mask face so his head was positioned beside mine.

"That…" he whispered eerily, "Is for me to know and for you to find out!"

And when I turned towards him to argue the elite ANBU shinobi Kakashi was gone.

XXXXXXX

I awoke the next morning to the smell of fried eggs; with my eyes closed I almost believed I was back home, waking up in my own bed with my mother making breakfast in the kitchen. Instead, when I opened my eyes, I was greeted with Kotetsu holding a large tray of assorted food and drink while wearing a…_flowered apron?_

I managed to force my desire to laugh back inside but it seemed my face still gave away too much…

"Shut it," Kotetsu grumbled, placing the food in my lap rather roughly, "It's customary for the food servers to wear this crap, and besides this was supposed to be Mushi's job but since she has been soooo busy taking care of the newly awakened psycho killer Haruno made it my job, and as my good ol' boss says 'You can't break tradition!'"

The "maid" then said firmly into a chair, "Ass."

It was quiet then besides the sounds of my chewing and swallowing of water, I had not realized how hungry I was after the constant motion of yesterday coupled with complete exhaustion. Plus the weird discussion I had with Kakashi hadn't helped anything…

"You father is improving," Kotetsu said after awhile, "More of his little bug things are entering through the window by the day, though Happy-Go-Lucky Haruno still thinks he should be labeled under 'critical-condition'."

I nodded while I ate, overjoyed with my father's recovery but still far too famished to really think on it. Besides, it was just nice to listen to the talkative teen ramble.

"That Aburame team is also expected to be here by tomorrow," the said teen continued, though I noticed a tad bit more reserved for some reason, "They've now been identified as your uncle Shiro, your aunt, Aburame Amaya, your twin cousins Aburame Shin and Shinji, and well…uh…your…half-sister…Aburame Azami…"

This defiantly caught enough of my attention, so much so in fact that I ended up chocking on a piece of rice, Kotetsu quickly stood up to assist me but I managed to grab the glass of water and force down the vile piece of food that nearly ended me.

"My what!?" I exclaimed for the first time in my life, yet before Kotetsu could say anything the sound of a door slamming vibrated from outside my room followed by a procession of speeded footsteps. Kotetsu smiled at the sound.

"Oh and one more thing…"

The door to my room burst open with a loud _bang _and all I could catch was a glimpse of yellow before a body had thrown itself into me, launching food and dishes everywhere. But I didn't care, I threw both of my arms around the boy hugging me as if his life depended on it, I ended up getting a mouth full of blonde hair as we both started laughing.

XXXXXXX

……

"You have a visitor." Kotetsu finished smiling brightly at the two small boys who hugged each other and laughed like only the closest of friends would.

**To Be Continued…**


	14. Different

**Well let's just keep this story rolling a long! Read, Review, And Rejoice!**

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 14:**_

_**XXXXXXX**_

……_.._

**To hold in secrets is to be human. To hold in everything is to be Aburame.**

The small group moved silently together as they leapt amongst the forest. Their dark clothing blending well into the night, making them look like mere shadows dancing on the branches. Only the keenest of eyes or ears would be able to notice the strangeness of these shadows. For even the trained eye would have trouble with noticing the small insects that surrounded and followed the shadows as if they were a look out for them. And even the trained ear would have to strain to hear the near silent buzzing seeming to come from within the shadows themselves.

The group continued this silent traveling until the morning's grayness began to pool itself into the forest, illuminating the woods with its dull color. The shadows quickly retreated into the cover of a great oak's branches.

"Are we almost there?" One of the smaller figures asked, feeling it safe to talk now, "I swear I'm getting sick of this whole rearrangement of sleeping."

"Quit complaining." His counterpart muttered, his gaze focused on the ground below the two as they sat back to back.

"I wasn't asking _you_," the other shot folding his arms underneath the dark cloak stubbornly; he set his hidden gaze to the tallest figure, "Well Master Shiro?"

The man in question leaned against the trunk of the tree, his eyes closing behind the black goggles, "We will arrive at Konoha by next nightfall, now sleep."

The two feminine figures on the branches beside Shiro quickly complied with their leader, getting in the most comfortable positions possible before going still. The one who first spoke, however, could not fall asleep as easily.

"I don't see how they can just sleep, can you Shin?" the boy whispered behind him to his twin, "I mean this will be our first time ever inside an actual village!"

Yet his twin did not reply, and when the boy looked behind him Shin had his head still downcast only now his breath came out in the same even level of sleep.

"Guess the feeling isn't mutual," the boy muttered, turning away from his brother, only for his gaze to fix on the smaller of the two women lying on branches.

"Hey Azami!" the boy whispered, not daring to move with his twin using his back as support, "Azami are you asleep?"

In response the girl on the branch let her head slide off the side, her long red hair flowing down from her perfect oval face; with her collar out of the way she flashed a smile at the now blushing boy.

"No I am not asleep honey," Azami whispered back, and with a slight cock of the head, "But what's keeping sweet little Shinji up?"

"Well…" Shinji muttered, tearing his eyes away from Azami so he could focus his thoughts better, "I-I was just excited…that's all…"

From the corner of his eyes he saw Azami rise so that she was sitting Indian-style on the branch, her hands resting delicately on her perfectly toned thighs. Shinji felt his face grow hotter and buried his head into the collar, both out of embarrassment and shame for his feelings. Azami was quick to catch it.

"Something bothering you, darling Shinji?" She asked with another cock of the head, though a tiny smile was playing on her lips.

"N-nothing, nothing at all," the twin stammered, keeping his face hidden beneath the collar. Azami's smile grew.

"You know you shouldn't be ashamed of your feelings," she said bluntly, slowly moving from her sitting style so that she now appeared ready to crawl, her collar still being unable to hide anything, "Its right for a man to feel like this around a woman he desires."

"Not an Aburame man!" Shinji hissed, his face finally coming from the depths of his collar, and while it was still shaded in a deep scarlet his mouth formed a hard line of determination, "An Aburame man fights off such distractions, as do Aburame women!"

"Oh you are so silly Shinji," Azami purred, now actually crawling along the length of the branch, towards the boy, "You know we are both unlike those of the other members, I for my birth mother and you for you're…"

"Be silent!" the boy almost yelled, causing Azami to halt in her seductive approach, Shinji glanced behind him, and making sure he hadn't roused his twin he gave his best death glare to the girl that he could through his shades, "I told you _that_ out of confidence, I don't want you speaking about it at all."

Azami looked shaken for the span of a second before her eyes resumed their half open state and she flashed Shinji another suggestive smile, "You mean you told me after that long night of hot pleasurable-."

"Just go to sleep Azami," Shinji shot, turning his head away from her, eyes shutting firmly beneath the glasses.

Azami looked taken aback for another moment before her face took on a look of aggravation. She stood up, her collar quickly hiding her face. She took out her own jeweled glasses from beneath her chuunin jacket, placing them over her dark eyes.

"Fine, your loss," She scoffed before walking back over to the oak's trunk and sitting down firmly against it.

After several long minutes it seemed that the short exchange had gone unnoticed by the other members of the squad, especially after the sun was well in the sky and the two appeared to be in a deep sleep. Yet, strangely, as the two slept a single tiny destructive beetle slowly crawled out from both Azami's and Shinji's ears. The two beetles lazily floated to the air, as if burdened with a heavy weight, and slowly made their way to the opposite female dozing on a branch.

The two beetles landed on the bark beside the woman's head and made their way into her ears, one going into the right, one going into the left. Yet despite the display the woman made no move as if she noticed, remaining deep into her sleep. Only after a few minutes did the female Aburame make any indication that anything had changed, saying one simple word in the midst of her gentle breathing:

"…interesting…"

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

**I never truly understood how much my life had changed with friends.**

For the rest of the day all I could see, feel, hear, and think was Naruto. Naruto's messy blonde hair, Naruto's sparkling blue eyes, Naruto's obnoxious choice of clothing, Naruto's way of hand gesturing constantly while he talked, and Naruto's simple ability to make me smile when no one else could.

My closest friend talked, talked, and talked some more. Telling me every little detail of the things I had missed, the new pranks he pulled, the new lessons he had tried to learn, the new ways he had angered Shikamaru. The continues stream of words seemed endless and I couldn't have been happier for it. Though I couldn't help but let my attention drift to the large bandage patch attached to his cheek, worried despite being told that my friend had received minor injuries and was recovering at a miraculous rate.

At some point during his ranting Naruto finally noticed how my attention was wavering from time to time, and seeing where it focused to the blonde gave me a wide grin.

"Pretty cool, huh?" He asked, playfully scratching the bandage, I was about to reach out a hand and stop him, but Kotetsu was quicker.

"You might not want to do that," the teen said giving Naruto a friendly smile while placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, "That burn won't heal properly if you keep picking at it."

Naruto looked up at the newcomer, studying him through squinted eyes, clearly not amused.

"Who the heck are you?"

"Who am I?" Kotetsu repeated confused, but then with a smirk he removed his hand from Naruto's shoulder so he could place both at his sides, his back held straight and his chest puffed out, "Why I am none other than Hagane Kotetsu! Assigned personally by Haruno Hisoka to be Aburame Shino's personal nurse!"

Naruto did not appear to be the least bit swayed by Kotetsu's display, in fact, as soon as the teen had finished his introduction my friend's face soon cracked into a wide grin which was sooner followed by a loud procession of laughter.

"What's so damn funny!?" Kotetsu exclaimed, losing all form of his previous higher status.

"Y-y-you're a n-n-nurse!?" Naruto said between his laughing, now pointing an accusing finger at the teen in question, "Th-that's a-a-a g-gi-girls job!"

Kotetsu now had the face of a ripe tomato.

"Why you little…"

But before Kotetsu could release his anger the door to my room suddenly swung open.

"From all the troublesome noise I suspect Naruto is back at the hospital?"

I looked over to see Shikamaru and his father, looking even more like each other than ever with the same annoyed faces they portrayed when the two sets of eyes fixed on the small blonde boy rolling around on the ground. Though the father quickly broke into a smirk.

"Hey there squirt, do ya remember me?"

Naruto stopped his laughter for a moment to give the man the same scrutinized look he had given Kotetsu, the teen himself still giving my friend the death glare with his arms tightly folded.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly, pointing at Shikamaru's father now, "Aren't you Shikamaru's grandfather?"

The father was quick to lose his smirk and now it was Shikamaru who seemed to be battling with his laughter, only he had the decency to hide his face behind a hand. His father however didn't look like he had the will to be decent; he took a step towards the still serious faced Naruto.

"I'm his father, you dolt!"

Naruto, who was still sitting, leaned in a little closer towards Shikamaru's father's fuming face.

"Liar, only old people have _that_ many wrinkles on their face!"

Shikamaru's father's expression quickly cleared and the man just as speedily turned away from the accusing child.

"I will not reduce myself to arguing with an eight year old," the shinobi said mostly to himself, his back still to the rest of us, "Shino, I will return when your company is more…to my liking, Shikamaru, I shall see you at home."

And with that he left not bothering with even a good-bye wave.

"Did I make him mad?" Naruto asked as soon as Shikamaru's father had left, walking back over to stand beside my bed.

"If you did then congratulations," Shikamaru said, sitting himself in a chair opposite of Kotetsu, "Other than me my father is the most uncaring guy in this village, I'm surprised you managed to get him to resort to leaving the room so quickly."

"Yeah, the kid seems to have a knack for that," Kotetsu muttered with a trace of spite still in his voice.

My oblivious friend, however, now had plain confusion written on his face. He looked at me through squinted eyes.

"I don't see why he was angry, I mean, doesn't he have mirrors in his house?"

At this Shikamaru and even Kotetsu had to stifle a snicker.

"Nah, he doesn't believe in such sorcery," Shikamaru said with a grin, but he just as quickly lost it as something seemed to dawn upon him, "But let's forget about this for just a second, I believe I have been patient enough for this past week or so and now that you two are here together I think this would be the perfect time to ask…"

Shikamaru then leaned forward a bit in his chair, resting his arms on his knees. He leaned his head forward as well, and I knew his gaze never trailed far from either Naruto or me.

"Now…" he said very slowly, "Why are you, Shino, in a hospital bed, presumed dead for almost four days, why is the legendary ANBU, Hayate Kakashi, now medically unfit to go on missions, why is Shino's father hanging on a line between life and death, why hasn't Itachi been seen since the night of the raid, and why have both the Hyuga and Uchiha clans vanished from our very village over night?"

I had to pause to take everything in; even though I had heard it all already it was still a lot to sink in all at once. I glanced over at Naruto who was now in a rare state of deep concentration, its un-familiarness almost intimidating, he obviously didn't know much more than Shikamaru.

After a moment of silence I sighed. No matter how much my life was to alter and change I knew I would never be comfortable to be the one talking.

"Well…you see…"

XXXXXXX

The explanation managed to be summed up in a matter of ten minutes, much in part thanks to Kotetsu's greater knowledge of what happened outside the raid and what happened afterwards. Most of it I had already heard but he saved what I hadn't until the very end…

"…and well it seems some new info has been leaked out about Itachi,"

And as Kotetsu said this I suddenly felt his eyes on me. I had previously been looking at my bed sheets as he explained all of the past disasters that had befallen my father and me though as soon as he said something about Itachi my head snapped up, instantly locking with Kotetsu's dark gaze.

"His victim…or should I say the person who was trying to kill _him_ has been identified as a girl named Tayuya, a family here in the fire country, a few miles outside Konoha, was matched with the traces of DNA that was scavenged from her, story goes that she was just a young teen when she disappeared, her mother recalled loosing track of her in a crowd in this very village and never seeing or hearing from her again, until now."

Kotetsu stopped to take a breath, though his eyes never left mine.

"In my opinion I think they were better off believing that she was just gone and living some new, better life, I think the mother even refused to have the body taken to her."

"Is Itachi that scary looking guy who's blind?" Naruto asked in a low tone of voice, I simply nodded in reply, "Did he get hurt too?"

"There was an assassination attempt on his life," I said to my friend, though not looking at him, "He's…pretty beaten up."

Naruto didn't reply for about the span of a second but I was forced to finally look over at him when he placed a tiny, firm hand on my shoulder.

"Well let's go see him then!" my friend declared, that familiar sparkle of determination once again glinting in his eye, "If he's hurt I'm sure seeing his adopted brother would cheer him up some!"

"You know he can't actually see…" Shikamaru began to mutter but Naruto was already in his own world.

"Come on Shino!" my friend insisted, now tugging on my arm, I felt the burning in my chest flare dangerously; "You've been in that bed long enough! Let's go find Itachi!"

"Naruto, I…" I tried to begin but once again Kotetsu was quicker.

"Hey, hey knock that off kid!" my nurse interjected pulling Naruto's arm off me, "Shino is still in a critical condition! You could kill him by doing stupid shit like that!"

Naruto complied with Kotetsu's brash demand but when the teen released his arm my friend gave him an icy stare.

"Shino's momma told me that only stupid people curse cause they got nothin' better to say." He said with a serious and straight face.

At this Shikamaru lost it, he busted into laughter, using one hand to hold his sides while the other grasped the side of the chair so he wouldn't roll off. Even I had to cough to hide the chuckle that almost bubbled out of my throat. Impossibly Kotetsu remained un-shaken; he even began to stare Naruto down.

Though suddenly the teen's face broke into a wicked grin.

"Hey Naruto, what do you call a smart blonde?

"…what?"

"A Golden Retriever."

And with that Kotetsu stormed out of my room, making sure to slam the door loudly. Naruto looked over at me with an "I don't get it" face while Shikamaru looked at me with a smirk of his own.

"Hey Shino, what do you call a teenager with raging hormones and anger issues?"

I humored him. "What?"

"Entertainment."

XXXXXXX

_Itachi_

**Suicide, suicide, suicide.**

I am not particularly sure why my thoughts began to have a general decrease in anything happy or cheerful. Maybe the fact that I was going to be blind forever was now finally beginning to sink in, or perhaps now that I couldn't move even an inch of my I was forced to just lay still in utter darkness with no way to ward off any thoughts that may creep into my head.

One thing was for sure though; my new nurse wasn't helping anything.

"So when was the first time you went on a mission?" my nurse asked me.

"Awhile ago," I answered somberly, cursing the day I gained my voice back.

"How did you feel about going on it?"

"I was nervous,"

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Truth be known I did know, I was nervous because the very first mission I went on it was lead by my father, who justifiable was my team's leader at the time. I was fearful of failing my father as he already had such high expectations for me.

Those particular thoughts and feelings were dead and buried though so I felt no obligation to tell my new nurse the truth. Besides she was probably going to kill me tonight anyways, this could all be simply an act to lull me into a false sense of security. Then again, why waste the time?

My nurse, thankfully, either believed me or got the hint and didn't continue with the Q&A, which had seemed to go on for almost an hour. I had to admit I was almost flattered when my nurse had begun to ask me questions about myself but I refused to let such thoughts take hold, not after all that has happened, no one could be trusted when I could see, being blind only made such rules worse.

What did she look like? Did she smile while she talked to me or were her eyes forever glaring hatefully at my resting form as she pretended to listen to me? Do her hands tremble in anticipation to be around my throat or are they relaxed at her sides? Did she in general look uncomfortable around my presence or was she completely at home tending to me?

So many things I had studied around people during my life with sight. I always had expected the worst, expected someone ready to cut my life short. I had many enemies, and no friends.

I sighed without thinking.

"Something wrong Itachi sir?" my nurse immediately asked, she sounded closer to my bed.

"Everything's fine." I said quickly, the troubling things that went on inside my head were the last things I wished for her to know.

At first it seemed like I had fooled her again for she made no noise after I had answered her. But suddenly I felt a slight weight rest itself on my forehead, rubbing into hair that no longer existed, by its warmness I quickly realized the nurse had her hand on my forehead. I was being…touched

"You know you don't have to lie to me," she said, almost light enough to be a whisper, "You are going through a very troubling time and keeping it all inside isn't going to make anything better."

I wanted to open my mouth to say something, but no words would form into my head. All I could focus on was the heat that was concentrated on my forehead. It was like nothing I had ever felt before, and suddenly, as I focused on it, a great weight suddenly began to lift from my head.

It was as if that single touch pushed back all the unnoticed stress that had built up in my head. Suddenly I didn't care if I was blind, I didn't care if I was useless, as long as the soothing heat remained I could be…

But as soon as it was there it vanished, tearing its warmth from my head and instantly replacing it with the cool air of the hospital room. I felt the frown form on my face before I could even think to do it myself.

"Just think about it ok?" my nurse said, her voice quickly going fainter, only it wasn't because she was whispering, "I'll be back tomorrow morning, have a goodnight Mr. Itachi!"

The door then abruptly closed, leaving me in my darkness, alone and cold…a long with the beginning of the never ceasing feeling of her touch…

"Goodbye, Nurse."

XXXXXXX

……

The group awoke to the sight of the sinking sun. With orange haze gleaming off the treetops the figures leapt from the cover of the branches and leaves and continued on their path, once again remaining silent and alert.

The five managed to trek like this for about the length of an hour before one of the figures; the one that was farthest away from the group, suddenly veered his head sharply to something to his left. Quietly gaining the attention of his fellows he motioned towards where he was looking.

The tallest of the group focused on the spot for a moment before nodding, signaling them to move in. They silently broke off into formation, four splitting into groups of two that veered off into angles in an attempt to circle around the location while their leader headed straight down the middle.

They quickly found themselves surrounding a small clearing, and from their positions at the top of the trees they could make out a lone figure lying out on the grass below them. But Aburame Shiro, their leader, could _feel _the familiar chakra seeping from the fallen form; it distinctly brought images back in his head during his times as a younger shinobi, fighting alongside his closest friend and dear brother…Aburame Shibi.

An instant later he felt the chakra of his wife as she landed beside him; he didn't risk turning to see her.

"Are you sensing what I am?" Aburame Amaya whispered, she too having similar jutsus to his own.

"There is only one way to find out."

And with one simple hand motion Shiro ordered him and his squad to move in.

The five jumped in unison into the air, kunai knives out and ready to strike at anything that would decide to take advantage of their airborne bodies. Yet they fell gracefully to the ground, meeting no resistance all the way down. They landed beside the body, careful to stay back a few feet just in case it was a trap, though they were more interested in the bugs that were accumulating on the body, at least, all but one.

"Is he dead?" Shinji asked, bending down on his knees to see the body's face better, "Jeez, he's only a kid."

"That is not our concern at the moment." Shiro answered curtly before turning to Shinji's twin, "Shin, the jars."

"Yes, sensei." Shin answered before reaching into the large bag draped around his shoulder, he pulled out five large jars and tossed them one by one to his fellow shinobi. Each caught one in sequence around the body, Shinji doing so with grief clearly written under his collar and glasses.

"Shinji, please have some respect for yourself," Shiro lectured, placing the jar at his feet, the others doing so quickly afterwards.

"But…was he one of ours?" Shinji asked as he rose from the ground.

"It is obvious he is not," Amaya interjected, "The child's hair is long and sleek and through the sweet smell of our beetles he _reeks_ of that of another clan; do not let your feelings cloud the facts."

"Well said Amaya," Shiro said with a nod before pulling up his hands, interlocking the fingers, "We have wasted enough time though, let us begin the sealing."

"I bet I would of known that if I bothered to stick a couple of beetles up my nose," Shinji muttered under his breath as the group pulled up their hands as well. Azami giggled quietly.

"Begin." Shiro ordered.

The five Aburame's then begin the numerous hand signs, all matching with the others, not missing by a finger or a second. When they finished they held their hands out before them, as if they were fixing to push a large object. They held that position for just a few moments before…

"_**Seal!" **_

The bugs that were lying around the boy's body suddenly shot up into the air, pulled by invisible forces. They quickly formed a good size ball a few feet into the air above the group, who were still holding the same position. The large mass quivered for a few seconds, during which Shiro's gaze flickered to Shinji's sweating face for a moment, before the beetles broke from the mass in exactly five streams. The waves of beetles pouring into the five jars, quickly filling them up. The group of shinobi finally broke from their stance and quickly sealed the jars back up.

"There is no doubt who these belong to now," Shiro mused, mostly to himself, as he lifted his own jar to his dark goggles, "Only _his_ bugs would cause so much strain to seal."

Amaya glanced at her husband wordlessly before picking up her own jar. The other three doing so as well.

"Feisty little things aren't they?" Shinji mused as well, slowly twirling the jar.

"Shinji," Shiro said sternly, motioning towards Shin's outstretched hand, "As I've said, we've wasted enough time already."

"Oh…" Shinji muttered, seeing that the other four jars were already in his twin's bag, he tossed his own jar, "Sorry, here ya go Shin."

His brother merely nodded before tucking in the last jar and closing the bag. He then made to leave the clearing, the others following in suit. All but one.

"Hold on!" Shinji called at his comrades, when they turned he pointed towards the boy, "What about him?"

"It is none of our concern, that boy is not part of the mission." Shiro explained simply, already making to turn back around.

"Says who!?" Shinji countered, desperate to save the boy he was almost thinking faster than he could talk, "What…what if he _is_ part of the mission?"

This caught Shiro's attention.

"Explain yourself Shinji."

The shinobi quickly tried to go over in his head what he was trying to say, or at least think of a convincing reason. It seemed the luck of the beetle was with him.

"You said we were less than a day from the village, right?" Shinji asked, to which Shiro slowly nodded, "Well, don't you think it's kinda odd that this boy would be lying out in the middle of nowhere so close to the village? What if he's connected to that village…or more importantly, what if he's connected to the guys that attacked Shibi and his son?"

Shiro's eyebrows rose over his goggles. Amaya's eyes focused directly at the boy through her glasses. Azami gave him a silent thumbs-up behind the two adults and even Shin nodded in appreciation.

"Clever, brother." His twin muttered.

XXXXXX

_**One Day Later**_

XXXXXX

_Aburame Itachi_

"Would you like to see your brother today Mr. Aburame?"

When my nurse asked me that my heart swelled for the first time in my entire life, not only for the words that she spoke but also for how her soft hand placed itself gently on my shoulder as she spoke it.

"I would like that very much Ms. Nurse."

She laughed at that, a very sweet, musical laugh.

"Please," She said, a smile still heard in her voice, "Call me Mushi."

I couldn't help but smile as well, actually enjoying the strain that it caused the un-used muscles.

"As you wish, Ms. Mushi."

XXXXXX

_Hayate Kakashi_

**If you hate your mask and you know it clap your hands. **_**Clap Clap**_

"Looks like the cavalry has arrived," Izumo announced as he and I watched the quickly approaching figures move in towards the front gates, he then turned to me, "This'll be the first time more than three of those Aburame have been in the village at once since that war huh?"

"Yeah," I muttered, slowly rising from the window ledge that was situated near the top of one of the tallest buildings in Konoha, "I wonder if they will actually be able to cause a civil war this time…"

"Civil war!?" Izumo exclaimed, I knew there was an aghast look of some kind beneath the mask.

"Well of course, don't you know why only just a few Aburame stay within our village's walls?"

Izumo nodded wordlessly, I couldn't help but smirk beneath my mask.

"Well it's simply because it is far too _risky_ to have more than two or three of their clan in any given village, cause if a group of, I don't know, say _five_ were to suddenly move in… well…"

"Well what!?" the younger ANBU cried when I didn't continue right away, "What's so bad about that?"

"Aburame's aren't like the rest of us," I said, pushing my masked face close against Izumo's, I could see the ripple of fear snake down his body, "To a lot of people they are seen as _creepy_ and _weird_, quite frankly they _scare_ many villagers and even most shinobi…so much so that some might decide they want to get rid of those weirdos…and anyone associated with them…and well, then the only outcome is…"

Izumo leaned in even closer, afraid he might miss the most important part.

"_**War!"**_ I yelled in his face, making the poor boy scream like a girl and flip over the side of the roof. I didn't bother to check if he would be ok, he didn't deserve to be an ANBU if he couldn't survive a 400 foot fall.

XXXXXX

_**To Be Continued…**_


	15. Shin's Goal

**Before I move on with yet another chapter lets reply to more of those reviews!**

**MissNaye: That is actually a really good idea, it almost hurts how some of yall are actually thinking more into this then I am! Though I guess I can just call that a compliment. That actually would be a good answer to his problem but for what I have planned for this story so far I'm going to need him to stay blind.**

_Itachi: Bastard…_

_Me: Oh be quiet; just be lucky I'm actually letting you talk in the "non-plot part" of this Word document._

**Miss Cocca Bean: Thank you very much for that extensive review! While I am a needy kind of person who enjoys any type of review it still inspires me more than anything else when I read one that shows a good part of how the reader thinks and feels about my story. So thanks again for taking the time!**

**And for what must be the millionth time in 15 chapter's thank you everyone for reading and reviewing to this story thus far! I am actually enjoying this more and more I write it so don't expect an end anytime soon!**

_Itachi: Get on with it already…_

_Me: See I'm even letting the characters talk in here…but I guess that just means I'm just getting the feeling that it gets very boring with just me talking up here._

_Itachi: …_

_Me: Aaaaaaanyways, on with the story!_

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 15:**_ **Shin's Goal**

XXXXXXX

……

**To underestimate an opponent is to invite death into one's self.**

The group of five walked closely together as they made their way through the front gates of Konoha. With their hoods up and bodies cloaked no one would be able to tell who they were, they could have easily been a group of the enemy clan, yet no one stopped them, no one even made a move to approach them.

The front gate guards could only stare at the group, their eyes unable to hide the distrust and fear, their gazes shifting from the shinobi to the swarm of beetles that hovered over the group wherever they moved.

"There's no mistake, those are defiantly the Aburame group scheduled for today," One of the guards whispered to the other, "Creepy looking lot aren't they?"

"I thought three was enough," the other replied softly, nodding, "At least that Amarante one was normal enough, but now it looks like we're going to get five more of those weirdos like Shibi and Shin-."

The guard quickly sealed his lips, however, when one of the dark figures, who were several yards away by now, suddenly turned its head towards the two guards. They both caught a flash of black sunglasses and severe anger before the figure turned its head away again. The guard who talked last shuddered.

"You think they heard us?" He asked his senior officer. The older guard merely shook his head, already moving back towards his post.

"I am going to pretend they didn't." He replied in a shaken voice.

XXXXXXX

"_Is something wrong, Amaya?"_ Shiro's voice asked inside his wife's head, the eyes behind his dark goggles noticing the drastic flare of chakra in her body, though as soon as he said something the flare simmered immediately.

"…_I was unaware of you placing your beetles inside my head."_ Amaya thought back, her tone completely Aburame monotone, even in his head.

"_Forgive me for not warning you," _Shiro replied, his eyes moving away as he continued to lead the group through the main walkway, ignoring all of the villagers' stares, _"I just feel it safer that we communicate this way until we reach the Hokage."_

"_I see."_

They continued on in silence, Shiro deciding not to make comment on the fact that his wife never answered his question.

XXXXXX

"_The village is so beautiful, isn't it Shinji?"_ Azami said inside the boy's head, she felt his body jump slightly against hers before going rigid again, she knew he was concentrating heavily now.

"_Yeah…so excited…ou?"_ Shinji's voice said back, inside of her head, but his voice came in shakily and with missing fragments, he still had some work to do with the communication.

Azami grinned behind her collar before taking one of Shinji's hands into her own. She didn't need to see his face to know that he was immediately nervous; she could feel the sweat in his palm rise immediately.

"_Sorry love didn't quite catch all that, what was it that you said?"_

"I-I said yeah it is and that I'm really sorta excited to be here…and I was gonna ask how you were…" Shinji said in a low whisper, though his voice cracked slightly at the end.

Azami couldn't help but let her grin spread a bit. She pulled at Shinji's arm until she brought his ear next to her lips.

"_Well aren't you the little sweet heart? I am doing wonderful now that I have your warm hand to hold."_

She saw Shinji cough slightly before pulling his face away, though his hand did not move.

"You know you didn't have to pull me close if you were just going to use those bugs in my head again." Shinji whispered after awhile. In response Azami pulled him close again.

"_I know silly, I just love having that strong Aburame body against my own, it always reminds me of that time we-."_

But her thoughts were interrupted when Shiro coughed loudly at their backs, Azami quickly breaking the bond between their hands as they separated. Both immediately looked in opposite directions.

Shinji turned his attention back to the people and buildings around them, trying to use their wonder and unfamiliarness to take his mind off the certain images that Azami had brought back into his head. Though just as soon as that began to work his father's voice suddenly appeared in his subconscious:

"_You will never be a true Aburame if you do not learn to control yourself, Son."_

XXXXXXX

Shin couldn't help but glance for a split second towards his brother and Azami as they split at master Shiro's interruption. But it was only for a second. He just as quickly set his focus back to the Hokage building in front of him, their immediate destination. He blocked out anything that was around him, the buildings, the people, and his own clan members, keeping his mind blank from everything except the Hokage's building and the small body he was carrying secretly underneath his dark cloak.

_**As only an Aburame should.**_

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shino  
_

My room was as crowded as ever that morning. Naruto had come back with my mother today, and though she and I had not much else to say for the moment I still couldn't help but feel slightly better to have her company once again. Kotetsu had also remained after him and Haruno (who was strangely once again accompanied by his daughter, Sakura) checked my vitals and told me I was improving faster than they expected, which was the first really good news I had heard in a couple of days. Before Haruno left he had said I was to be having a very special visitor today, not bothering to tell me who.

Kotetsu himself was significantly quieter today. And by the way his gaze constantly drifted towards my blonde-headed friend I could only guess as to why.

"Soooo if your vitals or whatever is getting better sooner does that mean you'll be able to start goin' to school again with me and Shikamaru soon?" the said blonde asked me, a hopeful sparkle in his eyes.

"That only means that Shino may be able to move around in a wheel chair in the next couple of days," Kotetsu answered for me, though he didn't look at anyone else in the room, "It will be quite a while before he can do _any _sort of shinobi training."

Naruto acted like he didn't hear the teen, but I could defiantly see the big sad blue eyes that were suddenly staring at me. I set my own eyes to the floor space next to him.

"No need to look so put out, Naruto," My mother said with a smile, though even as she said that I could still clearly see how completely worn out she looked, she still needed close to a months of sleep, "My little konchuu has a tough exo-skeleton, just like his father, he'll pull through."

Her smile then looked more genuine as she fixed her gaze at me, Kotetsu finally pulled away from his day dreaming to give me his own half smile. Naruto himself doubtfully understood half of what my mother said but thanks to my continual lack of a collar he could easily see the embarrassed blush that began to form on my cheeks. His own grin spread across his tiny face.

Thankfully the extremely awkward moment was quickly interrupted when a soft knock came at the door. The three guests and I turned our attention immediately to it, Haruno's voice echoing in my head.

_You're going to be having a very special visitor today._

The nurse from yesterday, Mushi, stuck her head into the room. Her blonde curls bouncing around her face as she gave everyone, though especially me, a very toothy smile.

"Excuse me Mr. Shino, but I believe your brother would like to speak with you."

XXXXXXX

_Sarutobi_

I stared down the papers that now lay on my desk. Five papers, in all my years as Hokage I've only had such a small gathering maybe three or four times. This is the first time; however, that such a small gathering has been so important. I took another long drag from my pipe; I was going to need to relax my nerves early for this one.

"Ah, would those be the bios of the Aburame newcomers?" one of my trusted shinobi, Mizuki, asked as he stood beside me.

"That is correct." I answered simply, glancing sideways at the man. He was badly hurt, that was the first thing that popped into my old head every time I saw him. He was forced to move around on a crutch, his right leg having been stabbed by some sharp object. His beaten and bruised face would twist in agony from beneath his long silver hair time to time whenever he walked and he would absently scratch his stomach, most likely another injury hidden beneath his chuunin jacket.

When I had asked Mizuki what had befallen him he had at first denied me an answer, something I wasn't quite used to being the man that I am, especially when in all past encounters Mizuki had always been reliable and loyal to whatever I asked of him. It was only recently that he finally told me the story of how he took a nasty fall from a tall ledge during one of his visits to his girlfriend's house, who lived in the mountains near here. I had accepted his story with sympathy and at his request of a job, now that being a shinobi was temporarily out of reach, I made him my personal assistant while Ebisu was momentarily on leave after passing out during his over-night title as Hokage, I supposed the pressure was too much for the poor boy. At least he got the papers done that night.

"Aburame's Shiro, Amaya, Azami, Shin, and Shinji," Mizuki said softly, as if to himself, "Their names seem to go with their genders don't they?"

"Well spotted," I replied with a nod, now divulging into my memories once again, "When the Aburame's first settled in our village, during the time the Fourth ruled, he to noticed the pattern and when he was first introduced to their leader he made mention of it."

"And they told him freely?" Mizuki asked with astonishment.

"Of course not," I said, smiling to myself, "You remember how open the Fourth was. His kind and caring outlook had inspired the entire village, so you can imagine his surprise when he was confronted with a clan that desired to keep to themselves and had barely an interest in the act of _speaking_, trying to understand the Hokage persisted in his questions, hoping to break whatever spell the Aburame's were under."

"That must have really ticked of those Aburame's," the young chuunin said with a grin.

"Indeed," I said with a smile of my own, even chuckling a bit, "Almost to the point that they were fixing to leave the village and return to their nomadic ways."

That seemed to perk up Mizuki's interests even more, "And what changed their mind?"

At this my smile faded a bit. Now came the touchy subject, the subject that only a few in the entire village even knew of. Finally with a sigh, smoke flowing from my mouth, I looked back up at Mizuki, his purely interested gaze fixing with my reminiscent one, my smile once again spread.

"When the Fourth and the heiress to the Aburame clan fell in love."

XXXXXX

……_._

A new type of quiet fell over the trio as they moved slowly through the hallways of the Hokage's capital building. They were finally asked for identity at the front doors, albeit hesitantly, but all they had to do was momentarily remove their hoods and the guards were quick to let them by.

Now the three were moving through the narrow corridors, shinobi and villagers alike quickly stepping aside to let them by. Under the cover of his clothing Shinji watched them all with a deep regret. He really desired to speak with them, ask them questions about the village, and maybe even get to know some of those prettier young ladies better. Yet all he would do was follow orders, to act like an emotionless shell that no one would wish to speak with.

He wasn't entirely sure how the others could stand it all their life. For years he had traveled with his clan as they scoured the outskirts of Konoha, ready to be the first line of defense as well as the scouts for the village at all times, and they didn't even ask for any praise or thanks. Shiro, Amaya, Shin, and all the others simply did everything they could for the village for seemingly no reason, risking their lives for no purpose. Was that the Aburame way of the ninja now?

Shinji's brow furrowed the more he thought of this. He never really fit in with the rest of his clan; he knew he would have long gone insane if it wasn't for…

He looked past Amaya, who was now leading the three, to the other female Aburame who seemed to have her focus trained directly in front of her. Even with the Aburame coat covering her he could easily see the soft curves that made out her trained body, due mostly to her unique stitching of the coat she had personally crafted to compliment her body. He felt his face grow warm again.

Ever since…the incident he no longer felt the same strong ties he had with his clan when he was born. Even his own insects now felt foreign in his body, like they shouldn't belong there. In turn, his beetles seemed to have picked up on his new feelings and now everything thing that should have come naturally to him as an Aburame now was a great challenge, the simple action of releasing his bugs, that should have been as easy as breathing, required a great deal of his concentration.

Even the Aburame shinobi had gradually distanced themselves from him; he lost many of his childhood friends, only his twin brother had stayed by his side. Yet, thanks to what happened, even his own twin now felt like a stranger, they were just too different. The only person…

_"We have reached our destination,"_ Amaya said softly, speaking into the heads of the two teens on either of her sides, _"The Hokage of the same village we live to protect is behind these doors, treat him as you would the very beetles that give you strength and life." _

Azami nodded in agreement with her sensei's words. Shinji nodded slowly as well, although, wrapped in his own thoughts and feelings, he wasn't even sure what those words meant.

XXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

"And what was that one from, the one around your waist?"

"When my nurse smashed me into a wall."

"And that one, on your arm?"

"When she kicked me across the floor."

"What about-."

"Naruto, sweetie, please!" My mother finally cut in, interrupting my friend's and Itachi's twisted Q&A that started the minute the hellos and greetings were out of the way, "I don't think Mr. Itachi really wants to be reminded of what happened to him."

"I do not mind, Mrs. Aburame," Itachi said with a slight shrug. I was still getting over the initial shock of seeing my new brother in an entirely different pattern of bandages, as well as being confined in a wheelchair. Though seeing him adorning his brand new Aburame glasses was comforting slightly, especially with the unique array of jewelry that hung from it, a design similar to the one crafted by my mother for my father.

"What's that one?" Naruto asked, ignorant of my mother's leering gaze, and pointed at the series of bandages wrapped around his neck, "The stuff around your neck, that one looks bad!"

In response Itachi lightly touched the coverings around his neck, and although we couldn't see his eyes I knew he was deep in thought. Kotetsu even turned his attention to him, previously acting as though he was in his own little world again.

"This was from her slicing me across the neck with a kunai knife."

A deathly silence filled the room at that point. I felt my heart doing summersaults again as the familiar feeling of sadness washed over me.

"Oh Itachi…" My mother began, her eyes filled with her own pain, when suddenly Naruto leapt from his seat.

"That is soooooooooo COOL!" He exclaimed, "You're going to have the most awesome scars!"

"_Naruto!_" My mother shrieked, an aghast look filling her face, "Show that poor boy some respect!"

"It's quite alright," Itachi said in his same polite, even tone, holding up a calming hand to my mother, who slowly regained her composure in response. He then turned his attention back to my friend, a smile slowly forming on his lips, "That may be, but I doubt they would ever be as cool as the ones on your face."

Kotetsu and my mother rubbed their faces in unison when Naruto's face broke out in his own grin, his little chest swelling with pride.

"Ya think so?" He asked, scratching the said marks that looked more like whiskers on his cheeks, three even lines on each side, I was surprised that I didn't remember ever taking notice of them before , even more so that Itachi could…

"Hold on." Kotetsu said, most likely coming to the same realization that I did, "How do you even know he has those if you're…"

"Memory," Itachi said, tapping his head to emphasize his point, "I've seen Naruto before and it is…_was _my nature to take in every aspect of a person's form, especially any unique features, no matter who they were or how important they were at the time."

"Oh…" Kotetsu said before falling back into his brooding silence, not really knowing what else to say. The same silence stretched through the length of the room. Even Naruto seated himself back onto my bed spread, mulling over his own thoughts.

"Kotetsu," I, _I _said after a moment, breaking the silence, "Has there been any changes in my father's condition?"

All four heads snapped up at this, before immediately turning their attention to my nurse. Kotetsu cleared his throat, most likely uncomfortable that suddenly he had become the center of attention.

"Funny you should ask that, actually," He said, rubbing the skin underneath his bandage as he looked at the floor space next to his feet, "Haruno and his nurse ran some tests on your dad this morning and well…it seems that the poison and his insects are at a stale mate…"

"They are at a _what!"_ My mother suddenly cried out, her tired eyes taking a new, dangerous, look as she jumped from her seat, turning all her fury on to my poor nurse, "You med-shinobi said my husband was improving! How did _that_ suddenly get twisted around!?"

"Please calm down, Mrs. Aburame!" Kotetsu pleaded, already getting up from the chair in case he needed to make use of his legs and make a quick getaway, "This is an entirely new and unexpected development, sometime during the night his bug flow just ceased, what beetles that are now in his body are just enough to keep the poison from totally spreading through his body, but he still needs more before he can completely be rid of it."

My mother stared at the shaking teen for a few moments before a look of utter depression finally fell over her countenance. With a heavy sigh she fell back into her seat.

"I can't believe it," she said, rubbing her fingers against her eyes, "I just can't believe it."

I sat there staring at my mother, we all did. I wish I could do more than say something pointless like "He will be OK," but even that sounded fake in my head, for I to had my own worries for my struggling father. Was he going to be in this state forever? Or were his bugs going to eventually tire out…

"Shino," Itachi suddenly spoke, in the midst of my brooding and my mother's moaning, "Did your father perhaps tell you of a way that your clan could transfer insects into each other?"

My mother's head rose hopefully at that, but I could only shake my head sadly.

"He never made mention of anything like that to me," I said softly, Itachi grew silent once more.

"…I don't get it," Naruto suddenly declared after being uncommonly silent for awhile.

"What else is new?" Kotetsu said under his breath.

"If Shino's dad got that poison in his body why doesn't the doctors just take it out themselves?" My friend finished as though he never heard the teen.

Kotetsu was about to answer when my mother suddenly cut in. She, knowing the "relationship" between my nurse and Naruto, most likely wanted to explain it to my friend minus the harsh words.

"Well, Naruto, Aburame bodies don't exactly work like the rest of ours, well the ones with bugs anyways, it actually kinda goes a long with how they live their life," My mother then cleared her rasping throat, "You see, if an Aburame gets sick, his beetles make him better, if an Aburame is injured in battle, his beetles heal his wounds, when an Aburame dies, his beetles die with him."

At Naruto's instant look of confusion my mother smiled before walking over and wrapping and arm around his shoulder. She then turned him so that they were both facing me, cheek to cheek.

"Let's look at your friend and my dear son, Shino, for example."

I felt my face grow hot as Kotetsu smiled mockingly at me and even Itachi sent me a small smile, most likely picturing perfectly what was going on in his head.

"What do you think his bugs are doing while Shino is just laying there like a lump?" My mother said in a false teasing tone, making me more embarrassed and causing Naruto to giggle.

"I don't know…" Naruto said with a smile, before he actually thought a little, "…taking care of him?"

"Right!" My mother said, patting Naruto affectionately on his spiky head as she pulled away from him, "Shino's bugs are doing all they can to make him all better, they are like his life force!"

"Life force?" Naruto repeated, confused by the new word.

"You know," My mother said, kneeling down so that they were eye level, "The thing that keeps you going, it makes you strong and healthy and alive!"

"Ooooooh!" My friend declared, realization seeming to hit him like a tidal wave, I saw Kotetsu roll his eyes, "I got that to!"

"Well of course you do!" My mother said, smiling ever wider, "You've got that strong heart with all the blood pumping through your-."

"No!" Naruto suddenly said, his extreme defiance momentarily wiping the smile off my mother's face.

"W-what do you mean, no?" She said, trying to gain her smile back with a forced chuckle.

"That's stupid," He said, folding his arms, "Heart, blood, I had all that when I wanted to be dead!"

Now the room had gone absolutely still. Kotetsu and my mother were now eyeing Naruto with dead pan eyes; Itachi's mouth had formed a hard line. And I…I thought everything else had gone dead _except_ for my friend, his now smiling face all that I could see.

And suddenly, his eyes connected with mine.

"But I have my life force now." My friend said, equally as defiantly, though he now closed his eyes as his smile nearly took up the entirety of his face, "The thing that keeps me going is my best friend Shino! Same with Shikamaru, Hinata, Shino's mom, Shino's dad, the weird masked man who saved me and Shino, they are all my life forces!"

All at once everyone's face changed. Kotetsu looked at Naruto with a compassionate smile I didn't even know the teen could produce, Itachi's hard line melted into yet another soft smile as he nodded to himself, and my mother looked close to tears.

And I…I was sitting there with a soaring heart and arms itching to do something habit wouldn't allow me to. Thankfully, Naruto did it for me.

"Thanks," He said, wrapping his tiny arms around me again, giving my body enough of an excuse to hug him back.

"Anytime." I whispered back, fully enjoying the emotional and sappy moment he had caused both in the room and inside me.

"I hope that we are not…interrupting." A voice that belonged to no one in the room suddenly spoke up, causing me to pull away from Naruto in a jolt. I instantly shot my focus to the doorway of my room, my heart skipped a beat.

_Father._

"You…" My mother said, though it was not in joy to see the man that had to be my father, instead her voice was filled with suspicion, "What are _you _doing here?"

"Ah, Amarante, it is good to see you again to," the man said evenly, staring at her through his goggles…wait goggles?

"Hiya there Shino's dad!" Naruto greeted, waving an arm to the man who was now obviously not my father, "Guess those doctors did the trick after all huh?"

The man turned his cloaked body to my friend. He was a little shorter than my father, but even through the black garment I could see that he was much broader. Through his dark goggles and bushy black hair he studied Naruto for the span of a second before nodding to himself.

"Indeed…" He said, mostly likely deciding to not even indulge my friend with a good answer, though Naruto still grinned widely at him.

"Aburame Shino." He said, more like a statement then a question, now shifting his gaze, out of the corner of my eye I saw my mother inch immediately towards me. _Who was this man?_

"Would you mind if we borrow your spare bed?" He asked, raising a gloved hand, indicating the mattress beside mine. As he did another, smaller, black cloaked figure stepped out from behind him, this one had his hood up so I was unable to make out any features, but in his arms he carried a boy, clearly beaten and bruised. His long brown hair fell like a dirty carpet over the cloaked man's arm.

I tried to open my mouth to give him an answer, but I found myself unable to speak. Thankfully, my mother did it for me.

"What happened?" She asked, immediately losing her wariness as she rushed over to the one carrying the boy, the later was quick to relinquish the body.

"We are not sure," the man said as my mother laid the sleeping boy on the bed, "We found him during our journey to your village."

At those words I was hit with a sudden wave of familiarity. I was told that they would be here soon, how foolish that I should have been taken by such surprise. But if this was true then the tall one must be my…

"Uncle Shiro?" I asked, now looking directly at the man. In response the two cloaked figure's heads snapped up. The taller one turned once again to me.

"That's your _uncle_?" Naruto said, looking from the man to me and back again.

"This is true," Shiro said with a nod, "I am your father's brother, and with me is one of my sons, Aburame Shin."

The smaller figure merely nodded, but nothing more.

"So," my mother said, slowly, very slowly, "Is the _rest_ of your family here to?"

My uncle, just as slowly, fixed his goggles on her. I to be held my mother with reservation. When Kotetsu had told me about my half sister I didn't really had time to dwell too much on it, thanks in part to Naruto's sudden arrival, but now the topic was one again thrown at me and now I had to wonder, how much did my mother know about all of this?

"Yes," Shiro replied, no part of his exposed face gave away the slightest inkling of what he was thinking, "My wife, Amaya, my other son, Shinji, and my wife's student Az-."

"Don't," My mother suddenly interrupted, holding up a silencing finger to her brother-in-law, "Speak her name to me."

At this Shiro displayed the first sign of an emotion, his brows furrowed in almost the same way my fathers did whenever he was upset.

"Have you no shame?" He spoke his speech slow and calculated now, the smaller figure, Shin, turned his head towards his father, "Have not the years at least diminished such childish feelings?"

"Nothing will ever change how I feel about _that_," Aburame Amarante said through clenched teeth, her small hands balled into fists. I found myself cowering despite her anger not even being directed towards me; I did not understand how my uncle could just take it so casually.

"You are an embarrassment to our clan," He said bluntly, "If my brother was still conscious he would be ashamed to have ever brought you into our ranks." I felt my head begin to itch in uncomfortableness as I watched my mother's anger slowly sink into sadness at those words. Looking around I saw the rest of the group in much the same condition. Kotetsu had his face once again positioned to the floor and my own brother-in-law had his own blind gaze fixed on his hands that were now resting in his lap, and Naruto-.

"Where do you get off!?" the blonde suddenly declared, jumping from my bed, in his face glowered an anger I had never once seen since his conflict with Sasuke. Instantly Shiro and his son turned to face the boy.

"Excuse me?" my uncle said, as if daring the boy to continue.

"What gives you the right to tell Shino's mom all that stuff?" He declared, his angry blue orbs fixated solely on the shinobi, "Do ya think that just because she's different from the rest of yall that you need to treat her like scum!?"

We all watched as his tiny fists shook; in fact, his entire body seemed to be shaking. My mother stared at him wide-eyed, her mouth opening and closing with no words coming out. I watched my friends anger boil with my own fear bubbling inside me, the last time he had gotten hot-headed it ended with Sasuke completely pulverizing him, and from what little I knew of my uncle I could guess he wouldn't treat him with the same lenience.

I reached out a hand to try and comfort him.

"_**ANSWER ME!"**_ He cried out, though it wasn't a cry in the same voice I had come to known. His yell had twisted in a sort of animalistic roar; its force reverberated off the walls. Now everyone was _really_ watching the boy, his body never stopped shaking.

But what ended up shaking me to the core was seeing the _surprise_ and _fear_ completely take over the two well trained Aburame shinobi as they stared into the boy's face, something I could no longer see due to my position. And when the boy then took a step towards them, the two far more experienced shinobi took a step back.

"You…" Shiro breathed. Shin began reaching into something hidden beneath his cloak.

"Naruto, stop this!" my mother begged, rushing over to him, and for some reason, as she embraced him, a part of me feared for her very life.

But as she hugged him my friend's tremors slowly died until they were gone completely. He even shook his head and began looking around the room, as if he was trying to remember how he got here.

"We are leaving now," Shiro announced immediately, already making for the door, Shin's hand removed from his cloak, empty handed, as he began following his father, "I will return after seeing to my bro- your husband."

He opened the door for his son but before he left himself, almost unwillingly, he turned his attention back to the confused boy in my mother's arms. He only stared for a second before slamming the door closed behind him and leaving us, once again, in an awkward state of silence.

XXXXXX

……_._

The two walked hurriedly through the hallway, the taller one in the lead, his intentions clearly to get as far away from the room as quickly as possible. His son looked at the back of his father's head questionably.

"Father," Shin spoke.

"Not now," his father returned, not slowing their speed.

"But-."

"I do not wish to discuss it!" His father retorted in a speech much louder than anything Shin had heard him speak in all his years of life. Shiro then fell silent, never once slowing or turning his head to face his son.

So Shin was left brooding, for once in his life thinking deeply into something other than the mission at hand. For what he had witnessed shook him un-like anything had before, what he saw was evil, pure evil living in the very heart of the village he had sworn to protect. Yet this evil had protectors of its own, some from his own clan no less!

Shin decided something that day. Inside his own calculating head he devised his own mission, a mission he would keep secret from everyone, including his own clan members. For little did he realize that in his raising and habits he had learned to hold in _anything_ from _anyone_, no one was beyond his walls, walls that were strong, even for an Aburame.

And in those invincible walls held Shin's plan. His secret mission. His newest reason for living.

The process of eliminating the blonde boy. The blonde boy with the red eyes. The Demon.


	16. Past and Present

**Another chapter another series of twists and surprises. But first yet more review replies! Huzah!**

**MissNaye: Once again I commend you for your deep thinking into this and it has given me a few ideas but I'm also having conflicting thoughts, seeing as how most of the Aburame beetles are planted in their host's body at childbirth so there could be the off chance that placing them in an almost fully grown host could cause problems with both the host and the beetles, then again Itachi's "white Sharingan" could compensate for that…we shall see. **

**megi52: I am very glad you enjoyed the chapter and a very Happy New Year to you as well!**

**Lyell: thank you very much for pointing out those (sadly) major mistakes I had in my last chapter, I have thus fixed it so that the Third was actually speaking of the Fourth and Naruto is now actually saying what body part he is indicating.**

_Sarutobi: Gee, thanks, now I don't have to sound __**as**__ senile as I really am._

_Me: Oh shut it._

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 16:**_

XXXXXXX

……_._

**To an Aburame, love is like the butterfly. At first it is sluggish, yet at the same time it tries to suck in everything that it can, then, after it has had its initial fill, it settles down to brood and think over what is has done and what it still can do. Finally, over time, it resurfaces, evolving into something that is beyond what it ever was, something that is beautiful and everlasting. A relationship.**

Despite everything that was going on around him Shinji couldn't help but be reminded of the sacred Aburame love code, one of the few things he found himself interested in when it came to his clan. While Amaya conversed with the Hokage and his beaten up servant Azami had pulled him behind her teacher, so that they were out of her field of vision, quickly entwining her fingers into his. Before Shinji could even say anything back she justly placed a tender kiss against his upper cheek, the only part of his face that was revealed.

Now, as Shinji still stood blushing, their hands still held each other only hidden now by their dark cloaks. The boy found himself thinking of their secret relationship, even while in the midst of their mission.

It was not uncommon for two Aburame to be lovers and no one knowing about it for several years. Even when it came to love the clan devoted itself to its privacy. That was made even more plausible with the majority of the Aburame clan now devoting themselves to the village, spending most of the day scouting or training in the woods surrounding Konoha, leaving little time to pursue _other_ activities.

As Shinji thought this he felt Azami squeeze his hand, he was not sure whether or not she was listening to his thoughts. At any case he decided to stop where he was, now as not the time for such things, even he knew when to focus on the mission at hand, albeit finding his own thoughts far more enjoyable.

"And may I ask why are not your husband and son joining us at this time?" The elder Hokage asked as Shinji focused on their conversation, "Was their…trouble along the way?"

"None of the sort you imply, Hokage sir," Amaya returned, "Master Shiro and Shin are currently at Konoha's hospital, attending to Master Shibi; we had located a good sized gathering of Shibi's beetles during our travel along with a young boy whom they seem to have been guarding."

"Guarding?" he repeated, saying it slowly, "And he wasn't one of yours?"

"No, sir, the boy was dressed in what appeared to be the remains of some type of formal robe, and his hair was long and brown."

At this the Hokage decided to lean back in his seat, taking in a very long drag from his pipe, when he blew out the smoke he turned his attention back to Amaya.

"Did you happen to get a good look at his eyes?"

At first, the Aburame paused, taken aback by the peculiar question. She finally answered with a shake of her head.

"We were already late as it is, we also did not feel the importance of further examining his body."

"Point well taken," the Hokage said with a polite nod, he then turned to his assistant, "Mizuki, if it is not too much for you would you mind examining the boy's eyes," Then turning to Amaya, "Which is where may I ask?"

Mizuki looked close to actually denying the Hokage before the older man turned away. Shinji figured he must be hurting a lot more than he looked.

"I would assume near the room Shibi is currently residing in," Amaya replied, "But please, let me send one of my own, we do not wish to strain the assistant of the great Hokage, plus I do not think _they_ are doing anything beneficial back there."

As soon as she made the indication Shinji felt Azami's hand tear from his own. At first the boy was a little put down by her quick retraction but quickly covered those feelings up, knowing that Amaya more than likely had her bugs planted in his head now.

"Azami." Amaya said, turning her head a fraction towards the younger shinobi, in response Azami bowed deeply.

"Yes? Amaya sensei?"

"Examine the boy again; check his eyes, then report back to the Hokage as quickly as possible."

Once Azami had fully risen she bowed her head slightly, "It shall be done."

A second later her body burst into a swarm of beetles. The bugs flew through the air and under the crevice of the door and vanished. Shinji stared wordlessly at the spot his lover once stood in the flesh a moment ago. He had felt her hand, she was no clone.

"Very impressive…," Mizuki muttered, the Hokage nodding in agreement, his friendly smile still in place.

"She is a prodigy," Amaya stated, turning her head away from the door with a sigh.

"Albeit, a bit show offy." The Hokage said with a laugh.

XXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

It felt almost like a miracle, I was leaving my room for the first time in weeks. At that precise moment I was too excited to even be put down by the fact I had to leave in a wheelchair, Itachi's borrowed wheelchair at that. Yet seeing my mother's determined stride quickly dampened such optimistic feelings, it reminded me of the fury I saw take over her worn out features once my uncle and cousin had left, she had immediately decided that she had to follow them, I became the unwanted tag along at Naruto's and Itachi's encouraging.

At first, and for once, Kotetsu was on my side, although I think it was more out of fear of his superior. He had argued that I was still not in the condition to be out of my bed, even if it was in a wheelchair. Though this was quickly countered by Naruto and even Itachi, the former Uchiha stating that if I was strong enough to sit up in bed then I could use a wheelchair. Yet it was Naruto's argument of me needing to see my father that sparked my mother's attention. She jumped into the fray herself, on Naruto's and Itachi's side.

Overpowered, Kotetsu was unable to deny them anything, and even if he did I doubted my mother would listen. I had smartly kept my opinion to myself, for one I was having my own personal conflict between the desire to see my father again and the ill desire to see my uncle. Even through the Aburame's natural coverage I could easily see the contempt in his features once the fear had subsided after my friend's outburst, the fear part I was still trying to figure out, but I knew I didn't want to be around anyone who bore any ill feelings to my friend.

But here I was, being wheeled slowly behind my mother's stampeding by my best friend, my personal nurse walking closely behind us, no doubt keeping a close eye on my driver. Itachi had generously given up his wheelchair in exchange for the bed, promising to keep an eye, well I guess in his case an ear, out for the unconscious boy.

We soon reached our destination, the room at the very end of the hall, directly across from mine. The door was already opened, revealing the backs of several figures, two of them clad in black. I was thrown off my inspection, however, when an uneven bump in the floor connected with one of the wheels of my transportation. The bump was slight but it still caused the invisible fire to flare in my chest again, I gasped more in surprise than pain.

"Hey watch what you're doing kid!" Kotetsu ordered, at first moving to grab the wheelchair but stopped when he saw that I was moving fine again.

"You okay, Shino?" Naruto whispered to me as he continued to steer, still ignoring my nurse.

"I'm fine," I breathed back as the flame died down, but already focusing on the door that held my fighting father.

XXXXXXX

"Shino? What are you doing out of bed?" Haruno asked, his hard eyes not leering at me, but at my nurse, "Kotetsu, you have a lot to explain."

"S-sorry sir, I tried to tell them," the teen began, stepping from behind us, "But you see they-."

"There will be time for explanations later," my mother cut in, not at all fazed when every pair of eyes turned on her, her own eyes focused on the sleeping man in the bed. My father looked perfectly fine from the neck up, his decorated glasses were even still in place, but I could only imagine what horrors were hidden underneath that simple white bed sheet, "Right now I would like to know what is being done for my husband."

Haruno stared into my mother's face for another moment or two before directing his attention to the two silent men standing across from him on the other side of the bed, "Well I believe they were about to explain the same thing to me."

"Indeed," the taller one, Shiro, stated, pulling down his hood, as did his son. They both had matching black hair though Shin's was drastically shorter, and where Shiro wore his dark goggles his son had the same plain, round sunglasses that I did. Other than that their now exposed collars were colored in the same dark brown and, oddly enough, with their hoods out of the way I could plainly see a small, dangling earring on both of their left ears.

"My wife is currently explaining this very situation to the Hokage," Shiro continued, nodding slightly to his son, "During our travels we came across a small boy lying in the ground, a good day's travel from the village, covered in my brothers beetles."

At the nod Shin reached into his cloak and pulled out a large shoulder bag from beneath its depths. He then opened the bag itself, slowly pulling out a jar. I stared wide eyed at its contents. Numerous beetles were resting inside the glass jar; a few were flying but most just lay there, as if waiting for something to happen.

I looked over to my mother to see her staring at the jar as well. I knew we were both remembering Kotetsu's words, how my father and the poison were at a stalemate, how if only he had a little more insects…

I felt my heart fill with hope, even more so when Shin pulled out yet another jar filled with my father's beetles.

"Move, please," he ordered in a strangely soft and polite voice, one that clearly went against his look.

My group and Haruno quickly complied, us having to squeeze against the walls in the confines of the small room as Shin laid out five of the jars, surrounding my father's bed in a semi-circular pattern.

"Amarante," Shiro stated, once he and his son took their positions on either side of the bed, "I realize this would be too much to ask of Shino at the time, but has my brother ever taught _you_ the ways of our clan?"

I saw my mother stiffen at his words, at first I was afraid she was going to lash out at him again, but instead she merely nodded, already stepping forward.

"He has taught me enough," she spoke, her voice now hard and even. I stared at the back of my mother's head, my _civilian_ mothers head. She could mould chakra? Since when?

"Then would you mind assisting us?" Shiro questioned, waving a hand towards my father, "This will go much quicker if there were more than two."

"Then let Kotetsu and I assist you as well," Haruno spoke, stepping forward, "Shibi's survival is of the utmost importance."

"I'm afraid not," my uncle said, turning his head to the lead med-shinobi, "Only those attuned with our techniques and insects should attempt such jutsu's, I am taking a big risk simply letting my brother's civilian wife help us."

To my mother's credit she made no further notion that she was affected by my uncle's remarks, Haruno simply bowed his head, returning to his spot against the wall. Behind me I heard Kotetsu breath a quiet sigh of relief.

"Now," Shiro said, his focus entirely on my sleeping father, Shin and my mother lowered their heads as well, "We shall start," he then nodded his head slightly towards my mother, "At your command, Amarante."

From my position I could not make out my mother's face, what I did see though was the slow rising and fall of her shoulders as she took in a deep breath.

"Very well…" she returned, and her hands, followed immediately by Shiro's and Shin's, rose until they were held out in front of them, almost like they were about to pray, "**Release!**"

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Itachi_

My darkness was strangely quiet today. Both outside and inside my head. Although maybe that was jumping some things. For, with my overly sensitive years, I could still hear the soft chirping of birds and the faint rustling of autumn air outside the window a long with the faint breathing of the person Shino's family had found.

Although maybe I should say _my_ family…

….

In time…in time…

In that moment my 'silence' was interrupted by the sounds of soft footsteps padding through the door.

"Who is there?" I asked immediately, remembering my promise to look after the person in the bed beside me.

"My, my, perhaps I should be asking the same question?" A feminine voice returned, her footsteps continuing, only now I could tell they were heading towards _my _bed. I stiffened.

I wasn't sure what, if anything, I could do while being both blinded and beaten severely, but that wouldn't stop me from trying.

What did stop me, however, was when I felt a familiar, soft touch caress the side of my face. At once I felt all the hostility drain from my body.

"M-Mushi?" I whispered, completely lost in my own bliss.

"No, no, cutie, but close," I could then feel cold air wash over my ear, her voice whispered into my head, "My name is Azami, Aburame Azami."

At once I felt my body tense again as she released her hand from my face.

"Now, as much as I would like to spend some time with such a handsome young man, I'm afraid I've been specifically ordered to examine that poor boy beside you," Her footsteps hesitated though, "Of course, if that is okay with you, Mr.-?"

"Itachi," I answered, "Just Itachi, and yes, please go ahead."

"At your command, Itachi," Azami returned, a smile easily heard in her voice.

As her footsteps continued again I couldn't help but think; _what kind of Aburame smiles?_

"The special kind." Azami replied without missing a beat.

XXXXXX

_Hiruzen Sarutobi_

"Well _that_ was a new experience," Mizuki said as soon as Amaya and her son left after the one sent to examine the boy.

"Quite," I said, already turning back to the papers at my desk, only now my old eyes were studying two in particular. My assistant was quick to catch it.

"Pretty strange huh?" he spoke, "Seeing two Aburame _holding hands_?"

"It is strange," I said with a nod, "Though those two are…_special_ cases."

"Really? How so?"

There it was again. My new assistant's eagerness was showing clearly in his voice, and it wasn't the first time. I looked at him through the corner of my eye. It was masked expertly, years of practice to be sure, but his eyes. His eyes clearly shined the hunger for knowledge, the desire to know what I knew. So familiar to how _he _used to look.

"Forgive me, Mizuki," I said, masking my own voice with a polite cheeriness, "But I'm afraid that is strictly classified."

My assistant was deathly silent for a moment before his own voice responded in that same 'joy' "Oh, but of course Hokage sir, forgive _me_ for my negligence." He then bowed as low as his broken body could, as if to emphasize his point.

"It is quite alright," I said waving his apology away, while at the same time placing a masked genjutsu on the five documents, making sure that no one besides myself would be able to read them, before slipping them in a file and placing that in my desk.

"Excuse me again, you're Hokageness, but I believe you were beforehand telling me of that situation between the fourth and the heiress to their clan?"

I laughed despite myself, this child was relentless. But whatever the reasons were for his sudden interest in the Aburame clan I sensed no harm in telling him of a simple myth among the village, even if I was one of the few who knew it's facts.

"As I've said before, you remember the fourth to be a kind and giving man, correct?" I said, after some silence, at Mizuki's vigorous nod I smiled again, only this smile wasn't as bright, "Well _you_ remember him during the time he was married, all the time he was Hokage before that he was a kind, giving, and _womanizing _man."

"Uh, womanizing, sir?" Mizuki asked, almost as if he did not believe what he was hearing.

"Yes, womanizing," I repeated, throwing full certainty into my voice, "Your very own Hokage had a weakness with pretty woman…I would blame it on his sensei."

Mizuki, however, was a quick lad, and a devilish grin spread across his features, "Or perhaps, his sensei's sensei?"

I did my best not to let the silence drag on forever.

"Well for whatever reason," I continued, making sure to both ignore my assistant and hide the warm blush on my wrinkled cheeks, "Our fourth was a man that loved many yet fell in love with none, that is, until the Aburame clan moved into the village, and, as I've told you before, our Hokage was already perplexed with the clan in general, so, during his investigation of their peculiarities he conversed with many of their shinobi, eventually…finding _her_."

"The heiress to the clan." Mizuki finished with a nod.

"The heiress to the clan," I agreed, "But, at first, our Hokage found her no different than any of her kind, she holding up the Aburame traditions with gusto, no collar could be taller and no glasses could be thicker, though the Hokage focused his investigation mainly on her, as she would be the only one who would talk to him for longer than a few minutes."

"Because she developed feelings for the Hokage?"

"Of course not!" I replied, almost laughing at my assistant's assumption, "She saw him no differently than the rest of her clan did, a hyper active knuckle-head that did not deserve the title of lord of this land, but she still had _one_ weakness."

"A weakness?" Mizuki asked, almost in a whisper, as his body self consciously moved towards me.

"Yes," I said, eyeing him humorously, "The heiress of the clan _loved_ a challenge, and while doubting the Hokage's ability, being that he was much too open of himself, she decided she wanted to fight him, hoping that even while having a faulty personality for a ninja he would prove some challenge."

"And what happened?" my assistant asked when I did not continue at first.

I had to take a breath, even the thoughts were embarrassing enough to make me want to not even continue, "Well, the Hokage beat her, completely and utterly, but it was what happened after the battle that became the heated moment…" I had to take another breath again, "And, mmm, well, quite frankly, the Hokage had accidentally, uh, revealed his Aburame opponent a bit…"

At Mizuki's confused expression I sadly realized I was going to be forced to tell him exactly what happened.

"During the battle…one of the Hokage's attacks…missed the heiress…but not her baggy coat," I saw Mizuki's eyes widen, "Yes, it tore it up, revealing _much_ to the Hokage, and while some things I do not have the lack of dignity to say out loud it was her face that eventually held his eyes, it was, and I quote 'The most beautiful face I had ever had the privilege to look upon.' This was made even more intense when the heiress of the Aburame clan made no mood to hide her…body, I would like to believe that she was just simply so stunned to be beaten by such a happy and outgoing person that she was unaware of her current condition, but whatever the case something changed between the two forever, after that battle the Hokage frequently sneaked into the Aburame's new home in Konoha, and he and the heiress would sneak off, spending their time mostly outside the village, knowing their presence would cause much un-needed attention within its walls, but they grew very close and happy together, their feelings quickly blossoming into love…"

I let out a deep sigh, cursing my brilliant memory; it was dark thoughts like these that made me wish I would start losing some of my brain cells by now.

"I am to assume that the good times did not last?" Mizuki asked softly, though his voice was emotionless.

"You would be very correct," I answered, rubbing my tired eyes, "When the Aburame's sealed their place in Konoha they did so by nearly wiping out the Rock village's own bug using clan, the Kamizuru, during the village's war between us. Well, as we both know, that particular village isn't too easy to forgive another, especially after losing one of its prominent offensive clans, so, in secret, they sent in some of their spies to observe the clans that had caused them the most grief during the war, which, of course, included the Aburame clan."

Mizuki's eyes hardened at that, masking from me whatever emotion was about to escape, "So, one of the spies discovered our Hokage and the heiress."

"Yes," I answered gravely, "Konoha's Fourth and the heiress to the Aburame clan, alone, outside of their village's protective walls and very much in love, easy targets," I stopped again as I was forced to cough, these thoughts making me more and more uneasy, "So, in the end, the Rock clan devised a special ambush for twenty of their most skilled shinobi, the village knowing full well the level of skill our Hokage possessed, and in due time they attacked the two unexpectantly one night…it is unsure how the heiress fell, the Fourth refused to explain the fight, but after our ANBU examined the remains the next day they found an endless score of dead bee's, so it is to be assumed that the Rock village scavenged the survivors from the Kamizuru clan and added their numbers to the attack squad, using their superior knowledge of the Aburame fighting style to surprise and outwit the heiress of the clan, ultimately ending in her demise, in his grief our Hokage unleashed a series of attacks that echoed throughout our village, ending the lives of the elite Rock shinobi before they even knew what hit them. And in the middle of the night the entirety of the Aburame clan were awakened to the sound of our Hokage's sadness, following his sobs they found him lying at the foot of their door, his body covered in kunai and blood, their dead heiress in his arms, his sorrow shaking the clan to their core. The next day the Aburame's held a private funeral in their home, only Aburame clan members and the Fourth were allowed to attend. Before then, none of their shinobi knew about the secret romance between their heiress and the Hokage, but when they learned of his deeds and heroics in trying to protect her they honored him in her name, even offering him the title of their new heir."

At this my assistant was unable to hold back a surprised gasp, "And he refused?"

"Of course," I said with a stern nod, "Being Hokage is stressful work enough, and while he meant them no offense he told them he had enough to do with their clan on a personal basis, so it was also that same day that they announced their leader's new successor, the late heiress's' younger brother, Aburame Shibi as the new clan heir. During the rest of the years of the Fourth's life he eventually moved on from his loss and meant the love of his life and well…you know the rest."

Mizuki nodded, "The Kyubi…"

I bit down hard on my pipe, "The Kyubi."

XXXXXX

……

The sun was beginning to sink behind the cities walls as the now group of ten walked peacefully through Konoha's streets. Though their actions were simple enough, by the way the civilians stared with awe and near horror it would almost be assumed that a parade was marching its way through the streets.

Shinji couldn't really blame these people though. It wasn't every day that you see legendary Aburame shinobi strolling through the streets while pushing their leader and his son in wheelchairs along the way. And besides he was in too good of a mood to really consider their pessimistic views.

For one they were heading to a house, a _house_ to sleep in, no more dirt floors or uncomfortable tree limbs or piles of bug infested leaves. What did it matter that their host, Shibi's wife, kept giving his girl and his father nasty looks or that his father and brother kept giving the loud blonde boy wary looks. He was going to be sleeping in a bed damnit!

And hopefully not alone…

He looked over to see his beautiful girl only to find that she was no longer walked beside him. Stunned, he looked over to see that she was currently pushing the blind boy's wheelchair, bending low to talk to him and giggling whenever he said something back.

Shinji watched this with a new emotion boiling at the pit of his stomach.

Anger.

XXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

Never in my life had I felt such a mixture of conflicting emotions. Having such strong emotions in general was still an experience I was trying to work through, but my father was alive, alive and riding in his own wheelchair between mine and Itachi's. And Itachi, he was officially a part of the family, Aburame Itachi; I had to admit the titles went very well together.

And my closest friend and current driver of my wheelchair was staying over for another night, at this rate he would practically be another adopted brother.

But I was no fool, with every good thing there had to exist a bad one, and this time it came in the form of my newly arrived family. I didn't want to blame them at first, I figured things would work themselves out over time, but even I, a mere child, could see the conflicts they were beginning to stir.

Whether purposefully or not they risked much by finally pulling down their hoods. Shiro and the strange girl with the red hair, and current driver of Itachi, kept looking over at my mother as she steered my father way in front of the rest of us, I quickly assumed the red head to be my 'sister' Azami. Though I think that was all too obvious when my mother nearly fainted upon seeing her. The boy who finally pulled his eyes away from my _sister _and Itachi had to be the quiet one's twin, but where their looks were exactly the same their personalities were as different as night and day. The Aburame teen reminded me so much of Naruto that it literally scared me, before he had seen Itachi with Azami his hidden eyes had flown across the scenery around us with next to no control, a big grin spread over his face the entire time. I was forced to pull my eyes away from him though as his features now contorted into an obvious rage, watching that one for any length of time always made my head hurt, to be so open and at the same time raised as an Aburame, it was like a moth hatching from a butterfly's cocoon. Amaya seemed to be the only normal one of the bunch, though Shiro's wife was also the only one who had not removed her hood, so I suppose I could not be exactly sure.

But then there was Shin. The soft speaking brother of the wild Aburame. At first I did not pay him much attention after seeing him for the first time in my hospital room, but now, it was almost as if he had become the very target of utmost importance.

And that was only because Naruto had become his target. Every time I saw him, he was seeing my friend. Ever since my mother helped him and his father save my father's life his eyes have never strayed far from Naruto. For now, I do not know why this is, but I do know that as long as he and his family are here, my friend will not be leaving my sight.

XXXXXX

……

_Soon_, Shin thought, his hand slowly removing from the leather hilt in his dark cloak. He had been caught again by Shino, the child was quick, and seemed very protective of the little demon. It would not matter in the end though.

_Soon_, Shin repeated in his head, focusing his attention on the road ahead. _Soon, I shall liberate you from our village; I will save Konoha from your evil._

Unwillingly, his dark eyes jumped to Shino's bushy head for a split second.

_As well as eliminate anyone who stands in my way._

XXXXXX

_xxxxx_

Unbeknownst to the group, or anyone in the entire village for that matter, a lone ANBU was pacing the tops of the buildings that lined the same road the group of ten were traveling down. The shinobi matched his steps so he stayed at an exact pace behind them, knowing full well that one of the ten possessed highly sensitive ears.

Regretfully, the mask of the ANBU was not coupled with familiar bushy white hair but a longer white, tied into a ponytail. The shinobi was careful that the group never discovered his appearance; his priority was not to engage in an attack…for now.

"It seems Orochimaru's mission has gotten a little more interesting," the young man whispered to himself, a cold, cynical smile spreading behind the mask, "I cannot wait to see how this all plays out…"

Pure chakra danced around his fingers in anticipation, but the shinobi forced his energy back inside him. Not yet, but soon, very very soon.

XXXXXX

**To Be Continued…**

**Hopefully with some action next chapter!**


	17. Aburame Azami

**Ahh, sorry to anyone who has read the last chapter. I had accidentally submitted the unfinished document instead of the completed one (really need to double check it in the future) so this message is just to let anyone who hasn't read the revised version of chapter 16 as of yet. Let's hope this chapter serves me better then its predecessors! **

**Side Note: to anyone who has also read the prologue to **_**The Roots of Darkness**_** I must again apologize for I do not believe I will have time to work on both this story and that one. So, while this one is still in progress, I will postpone my second story until I have time to focus all of my attention on it, school and work are simply far too draining.**

**With that said, let's keep rolling a long!**

_**How it Feels to Hatch:**_

_**Chapter 17**_

XXXXXXX

……_.._

"I understand that this is a very…unsettling thing I've done by coming here," Shiro said with a short bow to his brother and his brother's wife who sat across from him and Amaya. They had taken an unoccupied room after the rest of the group had settled down to sleep, knowing that many things needed to be cleared up.

"Not at all dear brother," Shibi said with a small wave as he sat in his wheelchair, "You and your wife's presence is a welcoming one, it has been ages since we've see each other."

Amarante let out a sudden snort, "A few more ages wouldn't of hurt…"

Shibi turned his gaze to his wife for a second but said nothing further.

"It was not our intentions to bring the girl," Amaya spoke up, the stout woman still refused to remove either her cloak nor her hood, giving her an eternal over-shadowed look, "But irreversible pasts aside her skills far exceed many of our own Aburame, Azami herself showed rare enthusiasm when we were briefed on the details of the mission."

"And what mission would that be exactly?" Amarante cut in, her countenance lined with anger after hearing the other wife say _her_ name, "We have been in each other's company for nearly seven hours and I still hear no reason for you being here in the first place!"

"Amarante please," Shibi said with a slight tone of firmness, "They are our family; they need no reason to visit us-."

"Maybe not _them,_" his wife retorted, shooting daggers at Shiro and Amaya, "But she-."

"We are here to maintain our duty as Konoha's first line of defense," Shiro interrupted, "Coupled with making sure our clan leader was going to live, with _that_ aspect of the mission complete we intend to look into the Hyuga and Uchiha disappearances and see how it connects to the raid, our hopes are to track down those responsible and eliminate them, removing any further attacks on Konoha."

"The latter being why we need shinobi like Shin and Azami," Amaya added when Amarante began to open her mouth, "Though we are masters in our own respects, my husband and I cannot hope to match our fighting skills with some of our younger shinobi, you will find that Shin's mastery of the blade is as superior as Azami's skill's with genjutsu."

"And what of your other son, Shiro?" Shibi asked, "I am to understand you had twins, correct?"

Neither for once Shiro nor Amaya answered immediatly; they merely glanced behind their respective protection at each other before Shiro turned to his brother, "In a matter of speaking, yes, Shinji is Shin's brother…"

Shiro then took this moment to stand, Amaya following in suit, "But where Shin is the perfect example of what our clan hopes and strides for, Shinji has become the perfect example of _anything _and _everything_ that is _not _Aburame."

XXXXXX

The village seemed to be even more beautiful at night to him. The lights, all of the multicolored brightness nearly made his eyes water through his glasses, but Shinji didn't care. He enjoyed seeing the village like this, bright and alive, even in the midst of darkness, and sitting here, on the tall Aburame building; it was like he was ruler of it all.

The sound of the door opening behind him tore Shinji away from his thoughts.

"Well, well, so _this_ is where you've been hiding, young Shinji."

Shinji turned, surprised by the voice; "Amaya?"

The woman simply nodded in return, her dark cloak billowed around her small frame in the wind. When the silence continued between them she made her way until she stood beside the sitting boy, yet she made no move to sit as well, simply staring into the bright city like Shinji had been.

"It has changed so much since I was last here." Amaya stated after a time. Shinji peered up at her from his position.

"You've been to Konoha before?" He asked, instantly curious.

"Of course," his sensei's wife returned with another nod, "Though it has been so long, years in fact, back during the time the Fourth ruled."

"Ah," Shinji said, not knowing how else to comment to Amaya's sudden reminiscing, she was usually as quiet as his brother.

"Why are you not asleep, young Shinji?" She asked when he made no further move to speak, "If I'm correct you seemed very ecstatic about sleeping with the sinking sun and doing so in a bed, do not tell me that Aburame habit has left you as well?"

Shinji flinched at her words, knowing that his sleeping habits were just about the only thing he could accomplish well in his clan.

"It's not that…master Amaya…I just needed to be up here…to think."

"Oh? About what?"

Shinji felt his fists clench automatically, "I…it's not important."

Amaya cocked her head at the young boy; Shinji immediately turned his face away from her, at the same time doing his best to block any thoughts in case she tried to read his mind.

"Shinji," She said after a long span of silence, "Normally I would commend you on your lack of being open to me, but I can clearly see _this_ type of silence can dangerously affect our mission-."

"I won't let it affect anything!" Shinji snapped, turning on her, but quickly silenced himself, ashamed for his outburst.

"Forgive me if I am not quick to believe you," Amaya replied, and Shinji could have sworn he caught a faint trace of humor in her voice, "But I will insist that you speak to me about whatever is causing your frustration, otherwise I will be forced to invade your mind and find out for myself…and I promise you that you will not be able to hide _anything_ from me if I do."

Shinji chose that moment to stand, no longer feeling safe with Amaya standing over him. He put the bright village behind him as he turned to her. They stood like that for a minute or two, staring at each other through their sunglasses. Shinji finally let out a sigh.

"It's just…Azami…"

"Being Azami?" Amaya put in, titling her head again. Shinji felt his face heat up.

"Yeah…" he spoke, staring intently at the floor/roof they were standing on, "She seems to really like that blind guy…"

"Aburame Itachi?" The elder Aburame guessed, Shinji looked up at her, an aghast look hidden beneath his collar.

"He's an Aburame!?"

"In a matter of speaking yes, he was one of the Uchihas before they shunned him for defending Shino from a ninjutsu attack, Shibi adopted the boy as thanks for risking his life for his son."

"They told you that willingly?" Shinji asked after thinking on it for a moment. Amaya quickly shook her head.

"Oh no, no, this mission requires the most absolute of discretion, I merely read the boy's mind after master Shiro detected strong emissions of chakra from him…he is surely one we must keep an eye on."

"Did he…was he thinking anything about Azami?" Shinji asked, completely disregarding the ominous tone of Amaya's voice as she had finished.

"That…" Amaya began, while turning away back to the door, "…is none of your business."

"Hey wait I-!" But Shinji was halted in both his speech and his movement towards Amaya; he watched through sudden blurry eyes as the squat Aburame turned back to him.

"Rest…" She breathed, her soft voice now a soothing lullaby in Shinji's ears, he felt himself sink to his knees, "We have a big plans starting tomorrow…young Shinji…"

XXXXXX

"You seem so tense," Azami whispered into his ear, "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"No," Itachi replied, his body rigid as the younger Aburame ran her fingers through his dark hair, "It has just been a tiring last few days…I am glad to finally be home."

"I'll bet you are," Azami said with a smile on her lips, she had finally shed her baggy coat once Itachi had brought her to the privacy of his own room, revealing a lot more body then a normal Aburame would, not that the cute blind boy could see anything.

Azami pulled Itachi closer against her body as they sat in his bed, his back towards her. She had offered her services to relieve some of the pains in his body and Itachi, not wanting to offend Shino's, Shibi's, and in truth his, family, was all too willing to oblige.

"Now let's see what we have to work with…" Azami mused before proceeding to take off Itachi's simple white shirt.

"What are you doing!?" Itachi exclaimed at once, pulling his shirt out of the Aburame's grip and holding it close to his body.

"I'm just trying to see what places on your body hurts the most, Itachi," Azami explained, already sliding her hand over his slim shoulder, she prepared a suggestive smile for when he turned to her but he never turned his head, and the Aburame teen quickly remembered that even if he did turn he wouldn't be able to see her face.

"Couldn't you just sense the pains much quicker through my chakra?" Itachi offered, adjusting his body so that his shoulder ended up sliding from Azami's now limp hand, "I am not capable of many things anymore but I still know a technique that will allow my chakra to be easier to detect, if you will permit me?"

His being blind made many things difficult and frustrating for Azami, if he could see just one glimpse of her perfect body she knew Itachi would drop his gentlemanly act and be all over her in seconds. Well, patience is a virtue, she figured, and with his body so mangled up she probably couldn't get much action out of him…yet. They say time does heal all wounds….

"Of course Itachi," Azami said, her hands already itching to feel _this_ Aburame's firm body, "Whatever you want…"

XXXXXXX

A few minutes later found Azami deep in concentration; her fingers pulsed with chakra as she danced the tips across Itachi's back. She would pause at several places for a moment or two, and with a simple pinch or rub would instantly cause the newer Aburame to groan in relief, giving the girl an instant smile of satisfaction.

"So tell me, Mr. Blind Boy," Azami began after awhile of doing her work, her finger's still tracing over Itachi's back, "How exactly did you become one of us?" The teen tensed underneath her fingertips.

"Are my differences that obvious?" He asked softly.

"Personality wise I think you'd fool anyone, sweetie," Azami remarked, giggling at his sudden shyness, "But I do think the severe lack of beetles in your body is a just a little bit of a giveaway."

Itachi snorted at this, catching the other Aburame off guard, it was the first time he had actually made a _happy_ noise around her.

"I suppose that would make sense," He said solemnly, "…I became an Aburame after saving your brother from an advanced ninjutsu attack caused by my brother…they were having some quarrels prior to it."

"Please, he's my _step_-brother, I'd rather not have anyone call me his _sister _around Shino's mother, I don't think she'd be too fond of that…" Azami stated, her fingers left Itachi's back, which seemed to alert him to the sudden change in the conversation's atmosphere.

"Forgive me," He said quickly, turning his head slightly in her direction, "I spoke without thinking."

"No need to apologize," Azami assured, placing her hand once again on his shoulder, "It's really not that big a deal, I'd just rather not get Amarante any more upset then she already is."

Itachi was silent for a moment, though he also made no move to remove Azami's hand again, finally he asked:

"Then…would you mind if I asked…how you…came to be?"

Itachi said it slowly and carefully, making sure that not one word was without great thought for her feelings, Azami understood that and smiled at his chivalry, not even Shinji was this polite to her.

"Of course I wouldn't mind, honey," She cooed, now going as far as wrapping her full arm around his neck, placing her head up against his, Itachi tensed again, but not in pain, Azami made full well those nerves were put to sleep for a good while, "I'll bet your dying to know about my mother? About Shibi's past lover?"

Itachi was silent for a moment again as Azami's words echoed through his head. Wordlessly he nodded in response.

"Well you see, if you haven't noticed already, I am not like a lot of the other clan, like my dear friend Shinji I would be considered a polar opposite of them, but where Shinji has trouble learning our clan's techniques and controlling his beetles my differences have allowed me a better understanding of the clan, of myself, making me the strongest of their clan…well next to Shin that is…"

"Why are you different?" Itachi asked when Azami paused, then, after pausing himself, "…your mother isn't-?"

"An Aburame?" Azami finished curtly, then smiled when she saw Itachi flinch, "Yeah, she's not, her clan, Aikoakemi, have never even heard of the Aburame before my mother and Shibi met, and vice versa."

"Aikoakemi…" the teen repeated, mostly to himself, "Ai- love, affection, ko- child, ake- bright, and mi- beautiful…"

"Strange name for a clan, right?" Azami commented when Itachi grew silent, "It actually holds deep meaning in both their clan's beliefs and techniques…it's what seduced Shibi to fall madly for my mother in one night…that feeling purposefully vanishing the next morning…my mother had gotten what she wanted."

"You." Itachi finished, his body still not moving an inch.

"Correct," Azami replied, moving herself away from the boy, the past always turned her off the quickest.

Itachi now turned fully towards her, though his eyes still saw nothing Azami couldn't help but be entranced by the black holes of his sunglasses, as if he was staring into her soul while at the same time not _seeing _anything.

"If you do not wish to speak further on this matter I will understand," He muttered in his soft tone, causing shivers to go down Azami's back. He seemed to be able to turn her on just as quickly as her past could turn her off…something not even Shinji could do…

"No…I want us to be _really_ close friends, darling," She whispered back, moving her body so that she was sitting directly across from Itachi. She couldn't help but notice that even sitting the blind Aburame towered over her, "So in order to achieve that, I believe you deserve to know about this."

Itachi simply nodded, his head turned away from her, his eyes seeing nothing but darkness now.

"If that is your wish."

Azami nodded even knowing that the man in front of her couldn't see it. Right then, in the midst of her longing and desires it was what she wished, more than anything.

XXXXXXX

**Azami's Story:**

"It was one of Shibi's biggest missions since becoming one of the Aburame's top shinobi, now mind you, this was long before our clan merged with that of Konoha so there were no planned tests or tournaments to be considered a higher ranked ninja, there were no such things as jonin or chuunin in nomad clans such as ours once were, to be given more responsibilities and trusted more you had to earn it through the random circumstances that can happen while living a life out in the forest, Shibi had earned such rights by saving a common trader from a trap of exploding notes while she was making her way to Konoha, in the explosion Shibi managed to save her life but she was still badly injured by the notes' affects. Feeling sorry for her Shibi brought her to his clan, asking them a place for her while she recovered, the clan agreed, albeit hesitantly, it was during the trader's time with Shibi that they steadily grew closer and learned more about each other, they would eventually meet again when the Aburame clan merged with Konoha and become united when Shibi was given the task of settling in Konoha and raising a family. You guessed it, that trader was none other than Aburame Amarante."

"But _my_ story begins just a short while after the trader leaves. With Shibi's new status he was trusted to do more numerous and dangerous missions. Now again, missions are in some ways different for a nomad clan then with a village. They both entitle meeting with the contractor and exchanged both information and the price, but with a village the Kage must consider many things when it came to a mission; how it might affect their status, peace treaties, and how other foreign villages perceive them. With a nomad clan a mission is simply a way to provide money and to hone a ninja's skills, so as you may have already guessed it almost all nomad clan missions were assassinations. Shibi's first big mission would be no different."

"The contractor was nothing more than an ordinary farmer, yet what he desired for was the death of a young woman named Kasumi Aikoakemi, my mother. It was a strange mission to be asked by a farmer, yet he was paying an unusually large sum, even for an assassination so the Aburame clan didn't pursue any further. With Shibi's recent rise in status they decide to give him this mission, confident in his skills, unfortunately never suspecting the woman to have skills of her own, the farmer never revealed that she was a shinobi herself, if he even knew."

"The mission specs didn't give an exact location for Kasumi but it did mention her being in a small, local town. Shibi spent the good part of a month tracking her down; he later admitted that he never suspected the mission to have taken him as long as it did, before he finally located her. By chance he stumbled upon Kasumi while he was taking one of his few breaks at the town's bar, yet the target had long targeted Shibi before he could ever realize it."

"Be it chance or fate the Aikoakemi clan devised their own private mission during the time the Aburame's discovered theirs. The clan used to belong to the Village hidden in the Sand, but have long since left, yet during their last few years they decided they would _take_ from one final clan. As I've told you before, the Aikoakemi clan based their jutsus and beliefs around beauty and love, though, to survive in a shinobi world one must adapt such principles to survival. The Aikoakemi clan did this by using their techniques to seduce men from other strong clans to impregnate the women of their clan, the woman in question would then return with a baby that would be far stronger than any from its would be clan growing in her belly. For a female Aikoakemi's body adapted over the years of using this strategy; the fetus of a mix between an Aikoakemi female and that of another clan's male will learn and understand both its father's techniques and jutsu's as well as its mother's deep understanding of feelings and one's self. The child will grow amongst the Aikoakemi's branch family, categorized by taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu specialists depending on who the father was. Yet, now I bet your wondering how I came to remain in the Aburame clan?"

"Let me back track a bit, back to my mother and Shibi in the bar. Kasumi knew for a long while that Shibi was the Aburame she was looking for. Her clan long knew about the Aburame's and unique style of bug jutsu's, the Kamizuru clan was also skillful with insects as well but they were presumably whipped out in the Third War by the Aburame, making using them worthless. Their plan had been extensive. After deciding on their final clan suitor before leaving the Sand village they sent out scouts in the wooded area where the Aburame were last seen. Once sure that the Aburame were still there they sent one of their skilled women to seduce a local, married farmer. Over the years the Aikoakemi learned and understood many uses of emotions and attachment so when the farmer's wife found her husband lying in a barn, naked, with another woman's clothes laying near him the following divorce, the loosing of half of the farmer's possession and the following rage and shame of the farmer himself were all expected outcomes. In his anger the farmer proposed to the local town for an assassination warrant for the death of the woman who ruined his life, Aikoakemi Kasumi."

"So there they were, the two people who would be responsible for bringing me to this earth, my own father, Shibi, never having the slightest of clue. Now, when it came to seduction, an Aikoakemi was second to none, everything from their looks, their smells, even the way they talked attracted the opposite sex like flies to a fire. Yet in some cases not even their seduction genjutsu worked, those cases being with highly trained shinobi, and _any_ shinobi from the Aburame clan. This proved instantly evident when Shibi didn't even seem to glance over during both Kasumi's physical and mental advancements. Whenever Kasumi tried to make a move the Aburame man seemed to stop that particular muscle from moving, and whenever she tried to place a certain image in his mind it was like trying to push through a brick wall."

"For Shibi's sake, he did suspect something from the unnaturally beautiful woman who had sat herself down beside him. And as he did with every other woman he came close to he sent out one or two of his beetles to test out her chakra and attempt to read her thoughts, though his skill in that particular field was hardly developed so the latter proved next to impossible, yet the prior alerted him of chakra levels that far exceeded that of any of the villager females he had been examining over the past few weeks. As a precaution he secretly sent a few more of his beetles inside Kasumi's head, which subsequently made her own secret offensive jutsu that much harder to manipulate."

"Yet, even as Shibi was beginning to unravel who this woman was it was Kasumi's already known knowledge of who _he_ was that would prove his downfall. For even as Shibi silently began to assault the woman he still continued to drink the alcohol he had asked for so as to not appear suspicious, nor did he look at the woman he was attacking. Unbeknownst to Shibi he was no longer drinking alcohol (something easily broken up by his beetles I might add) but an Aikoakemi poison that would induce the most severe of sexual desires if all else fails. Kasumi long knew who she was dealing with thanks to the Sand village's files they had been able to share with Konoha as part of their peace treaty during the Third War (The Aikoakemi clan's file was illegally kept secret by the Sand village, their numerous enemies making them fear a fourth war and believed that keeping such a powerful clan secret would prove invaluable for when the time came; the village itself had no idea of the clan's own plans to leave) and she suspected that Shibi would be all but invulnerable to many of her seducing techniques. So, while Shibi was busy seeming casual and unaware of her presence, she slipped in the deadly poison, and Shibi, focusing so much on figuring out if this woman was her target or not, as well as being a young and still learning shinobi, completely missed Kasumi's move. He drank the poison and in less than twenty minutes Kasumi and Shibi were in bed together."

XXXXXX

……

A sudden knock on Itachi's door interrupted Azami's story, the sudden noise even made Itachi jump. Yet, before either could make a noise, Shinji's voice called through the door.

"Azami, I know you're in there, Shiro orders that we all go to bed…big day tomorrow."

Itachi felt his stomach squirm at the extreme sadness that reverberated around Shinji's words. Azami herself felt an unfamiliar sensation, as if her heart had sunk into her gut; she placed a hand on Itachi's knee.

"I have to go." She whispered. Itachi merely nodded, knowing, by her urgent tone, how she now felt.

Azami leapt from the bed and rushed out the door, but she was only welcomed by the darkness of the hallway. The young girl felt her hear sink even lower as she looked into the emptiness. She sauntered off quietly, knowing that when Shinji wanted to be invisible he was very good at it.

XXXXXX

……

Shinji slowly ascended the stairs to the roof of the Aburame compound, so lost in his own emotions and thoughts that he was unaware of the squat figure that was beginning to ascend those same exact stairs….

XXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

I awoke to a miracle, well, walked into one I suppose. I didn't intentionally step off my bed without realizing I was supposed to be crippled, it just happened. I also didn't even realize the little miracle until I nearly tripped over my dozing friend who was snoring loudly on my grassy floor.

Luckily, I managed to avoid falling over; the stumbling that proceeded avoiding stepping on his blonde head, however, sparked the ancient fire in my chest. Albeit, a lot less painfully this time, but it still shook me awake and made me realize I was supposed to be in my wheelchair, that walking should have been nearly impossible for me for another week.

I grasped my chest, thinking over this, looking down at my legs. Yes, they were fine, they were keeping me up without causing anything life threatening. I took a few steps toward my door. Yes, I could move without any complaints from the fire that had become my heart. I turned around and walked even faster in the opposite direction, taking care that I did not trip over Naruto again, still nothing.

A few minutes later found me doing laps around my bedroom, avoiding my caged insects and sleeping friend made the trekking tough but I was pleased to find that my body was still showing no side effects to my actions. That is, until my friend took the inopportune moment to suddenly stir awake as I began to make my way around him again, his instant and total body arrangement threw me off guard. We collided, my entire body weight throwing us to the ground.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto," I gasped, as I quickly rolled off my dazed friend, though I was quickly surprised that the collision hardly affected my heart. I quickly refocused my attention to my friend, the blonde boy was still laying in the position I had knocked him into, "Naruto?"

I slowly crawled my way over to him, only to be caught off guard again when the boy suddenly shot up right again, a big grin planted on his face. He looked over at me; his eyes closed, and planted a firm hand on my shoulder.

"Now that's what I call a wakeup call!" He exclaimed.

XXXXXX

After Naruto had finished cooling off after his 'happy explosion' when he had learned I could walk again, he quickly went into his plans for us to go into the village. Using his seldom used serious tone he expressed his boredom of having been cooped up indoors during the whole time I was hospitalized, telling me that doing pranks solo no longer gave him a thrill, he needed his 'accomplice'. I wanted to say I was touched but for some reason Naruto referring to me as an 'accomplice' didn't seem to sound right in my head.

Nevertheless, after getting dressed we began to make our way down the long stretch of hallway that leads to the kitchen, and eventually, outside. Naruto kept a fast pace ahead of me, assured that his fantasies of us continuing our reign of destruction on the village would be uninterrupted from here on out.

Such fantasies, however, were instantly interrupted as soon as we stepped into the kitchen.

"Shino!" My mother declared, rushing up to us in a fury before we could even take another step, "What in the world are you doing out of your wheelchair!? Didn't you hear the doctor? He said you mustn't be out for another-."

"Mrs. Aburame wait, wait!" Naruto interrupted, I looked at the back of his head, stunned, he was about to attempt to calm a hurricane, "Shino's legs are fine, he just collided with me like five seconds ago! And before that he was running! He's fine!"

My mother looked down at the little boy, her enraged face miraculously falling into one of supreme confusion.

"But…how is that possible?"

"I'm not sure, mother," I spoke up, stepping from behind my friend, "I accidentally woke up and walked off my bed, nothing happened though, my body has stopped hurting."

My mother slowly digested this, before letting out a sigh and giving the both of us an unexpected hug.

"Well I can't argue with what my eyes are seeing," She said, releasing us, "I guess that's at least _one_ less of my hospitalized boys that I need to worry about."

Naruto and I were silent at that, we had been so tired that night we didn't really get a chance to talk to anyone, which of course included my newly arrived family…

"Oh, and most of your uncle's family have already left to 'investigate' the Hyuga and Uchiha clan," my mother continued as she walked back into the kitchen, her tone icy, she then indicated the table, "However, Shin has been kind enough to offer his protection while Shibi is incapacitated."

I felt my blood run cold as our eyes focused on the teen who had been so quiet we had completely missed his presence a mere walking distance from us. Shin sat, uncloaked, at the table, his hands folded politely on the table itself, he nodded at us behind his glasses and dark brown collar.

"Good morning," He greeted in his soft voice, I simply nodded in return.

"Morning!" Naruto returned, enthusiastically, before sitting himself at the chair across from the teen. I felt myself flinch as Shin's hands disappeared from the table, yet he made no further move. I quietly sat myself next to my friend, keeping a close eye on Shin as he kept a close eye on Naruto.

XXXXXX

Later, after much begging from Naruto, my mother allowed us to leave the house and explore the village once more, but with one condition. We had to take Shin with us.

XXXXXX

_xxxxx_

"I will go over the plan one last time before we put it into action," the ANBU coated man spoke, addressing his three similarly clothed teammates, "Orochimaru wants the three captured, anyone else will be handled as the situation fits-."

"Or as how we feel like handling them," the largest of the four pointed out, his large muscles flexing beneath the stolen ANBU garments.

"Yes," the one with the ANBU coat nodded, before continuing, "But we must try to avoid any death that would suspect the village to our actions, above all else we must avoid total war until we are fully prepared."

"Does that include Itachi?" the smallest of the four spoke in a feminine voice, almost hesitantly.

The leader paused as the three other's now looked at him silently, he knew they were all thinking the same thing.

"If the Uchiha's death is required then be sure to kill more than just him, do not make things obvious."

"That will be easily achieved," the tall, lanky member assured, rubbing a loving finger over his katana before sheathing the blade back to his side, "I will slay any who call themselves a swordsman."

"Then we will begin our onslaught now," the leader announced straitening up, the others following. From their vantage point on top of the building they could easily see the Hyuga compound below them. The coated man looked over to his female teammate, "The key to victory over and Aburame is to hit them hard and fast, do not give them any time to unleash their swarm."

"They won't know what hit them," she assured with a simple nod before holding up a single finger to her face, and instant later her body dissolved into leaves that were blown away into the wind. The leader then turned to his remaining two partners.

"While Kazuki keeps them busy we will drive the others into the woods, remember, do not strike for the kill until the two have been subdued."

The other two nodded, hiding their own thoughts and intentions behind the safety of the ANBU masks. Together the trio left, the Aburame compound being their next destination.

XXXXXX

**To Be Continued…**

XXXXXX

**Ok so no action this go around, but I promise you the life changing chapter 18 will make up for all of that! And again sorry for the severe lateness but school and work have really been keeping me busy, will try to get 18 in earlier but I can make no promises! **


	18. Aburame Apocalypse: part 1

**Well it's finally here, the climatic chapter 18! This is the first part of the chapter before the four year time skip where I can cheat off of Kishimoto's numerous plots and twist them with my own imagination! Woohoo! Oh and I might take a little break to add a few chapters to **_**Roots of Darkness**_**, dunno yet, up to yall!**

**Anyways let's get this underway!**

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 18**_

XXXXXXX

……

Azami walked silently through the empty corridors. All around her echoed the voices of the vanished Hyugas. Although she never met one personally, they had left so many artifacts and relics of their clan in their hurry to leave that she could have learned all about them in less than a day.

"_For one of the strictest clans in Konoha they sure abandoned their place in a hurry," _She commented in her head, knowing that the others could hear her.

"_Indeed," _She heard Shiro reply, though his voice was a little hazy due to most of his beetles searching the entirety of the building, _"It seems the incident frightened them enough to abandon their usual habits."_

"_Something not easily done…especially to a shinobi clan," _Amaya added, _"I'll have to question that Hyuga child when we leave here, what was his name, Neji?" _

"_Yeah, Neji," _Azami confirmed before falling silent, her teachers following suit. Walking further down the corridor a simple wooden door that stood ajar caught the young Aburame's eye. Still remaining silent she stepped up to it and slowly pushed it open, wincing slightly as it creaked with age.

The room was like the rest of the building. Silent and cold. A simple bed lay under a single window, the bright sun shining through its frame, the bed itself was still disturbed greatly, the pillow on the ground. Azami mentally wondered if the Hyuga was pulled straight from his bed when they fled.

"_I believe I might have found something here,"_ Shiro's voice buzzed in her head, _"I've entered a room in the far north corridor, from what I can make out it appears to be the bedroom of the head of the clan, though nearly everything has been destroyed beyond comprehension and what appears to be…"_

At the same time Shiro's voice faded off Azami caught notice of green leaves suddenly floating into the room, through the lone opened window. They breezed back and forth lazily, about five of them, before resting down near the center of the room. Azami stared at them wordlessly, as far as she could remember there were no trees even near the Hyuga compound.

"_What is it Shiro?" _Amaya asked, her voice momentarily distracting the younger Aburame from the leaves, _"Why did you stop?"_

"_There are leaves…" _Shiro answered after a pause, _"That just appeared as if out of thin air…there! My beetles have picked up a foreign chakra signal in the east most corridors…no wait…the west most…"_

"_Which one is it?" _Azami asked, now keeping a wary eye on the leaves as she began to back out of the room, _"Shiro?"_

"_I…can't tell, the signal keeps jumping…now it says it's everywhere…no wait! It's-."_

Then, without warning, Azami felt Shiro's presence leave her mind, so abruptly it felt like a knife had severed off a piece of her mind.

"_Shiro!" _She heard Amaya cry out, she having felt the same unexpected pain.

"_It's an ambush!" _Azami declared with quick realization, she felt her fingertips graze the doorknob, _"Amaya, I-."_

It was that moment, however, that the leaves exploded with life. The tiny green specs extended thousands of times their natural size in less than seconds, vines, ferns, and flowers extending from them and engulfed the entirety of the room. They were turning the small room into a miniature jungle, the plant life entwining and trapping anything in their path.

In a panic Azami gripped the knob and tried to turn the door open. When the door didn't budge she rammed her shoulder into its wooden frame, though she might as well of been trying to knock into a brick wall. Exasperated, she leapt away from the door, seeing that the plant life had already extended into its framework, strengthening it with their unnatural growing vines.

Azami examined it; trying to think of which of her jutsus would work best against the still growing jungle, when she felt a sudden weight befall her legs. Stunned, she looked down to see that the floor had fully transformed into a moving, grabbing, form of grass, most of it already wrapping around her legs.

"Shit!" Azami cursed out loud, she extended her arms down to her legs, prepared to simply shoot out her insects to devour the killer grass, but her bugs never came out, instead, Azami watched in awe as her own hands began to turn green, pieces of her flesh breaking off into lightweight pieces of grass.

"Genjutsu!" Azami cried out in realization.

XXXXXX

Amaya raced through the corridors, pieces of evidence and unsearched rooms past by her in a blur but the stout Aburame could have cared less at the time. They were under attack of all things, and in less than a second, both her husband and Azami were pulled from her conscious, something that could only happen if they were either busy using their chakra…or completely out of it.

With this thought in mind Amaya pushed her pace harder. She knew Azami would have a better chance at whoever their foe/foes were, but Shiro…with all of his beetles scattered around the mansion…

She could hear the beetles in question zooming through the air around her, all heading towards their assaulted master. The fact that they were still alive gave Amaya hope, but she didn't push her luck.

After a few seconds, that seemed more like hours to the fretting woman, she finally reached the double doors that kept her from her husband, but when she tried to push them open they wouldn't budge.

"Locked?" She asked out loud. Extending her right index finger she ordered three of her beetles out of her body. She wasn't an expert in offensive jutsus and she knew she needed to save whatever chakra she had for whatever lay beyond those doors.

The trio of bugs flew from her finger and into the crevices of the doors. Once they were inside she connected her mind with their hyper sensitive organs, allowing her to 'see' every inch of it. All in all, it was an average set of wooden doors, and it wasn't even locked. Yet what Amaya quickly realized was that it wasn't the door itself barring her from her husband, it was in fact something that emitted very high levels of chakra and while, through her beetles, she could sense life in it wasn't anything mammal. This new knowledge gave the experienced Aburame an idea.

She extended her hand again, only this time she extended all five fingers of that palm as well. With a quick, silent command ten beetles lazily flew from her fingertips and into the open spaces of the doors. Combining with the beetles inside Amaya believed she had just enough to perform her special jutsu.

Being an Aburame that didn't have much strength in offensive attacks she relied most of her skills in the usage of simply a handful of beetles at a time to perform more intricate and difficult tasks. Splitting apart chakra being one of many.

With another unspoken order, Amaya's beetles began to work through the chakra source that was blocking the door. Combining their already strange trait of living off chakra with their master's precise set of directions they quickly cut away the source and before long Amaya sensed it all but vanish from the doorway.

With a last sigh the Aburame ordered her beetles back inside her, knowing that she will need all the help she could get with whatever lay before her. Once they were safely back inside Amaya closed her eyes one final time.

An instant later she shoved herself into the doors, pushing them inside with ease this time, and entered the room to face her fate.

XXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

Almost everything about our travel through the village was as average as can be. Naruto conversing on and on about nothing in particular, seemingly not noticing the cryptic and malicious stares of the masses as they past us by. Myself being his quiet but attentive listener while trying, and on many occasions failing, to have the same level of ignorance for our fellow villagers, I supposed it was something that became easier as time went on and, at least to me, their seemed to be a decreasing in the number of people taking notice of us. The remaining amount still made my stomach hatch butterflies.

"…and I was thinking we take that bag of flour," My friend was saying; his face breaking into a smile as he more than likely went through the plan visually in his head, "And you use your brain bugs to scare anyone in the shop to the front doors while I tie the doorknob to the open flour bag and place it near the top of the door, so when they go to open the door it pulls the string and down goes the open bag full of flour! It will be great!"

I looked over at the smiling boy but said nothing. If only he put this much thought into actual ninja training.

"Won't work," A soft voice said from behind us, its closeness nearly making me jump. Naruto and I turned our heads as we stopped, Shin halting as well. He had been so quiet this whole time I had completely forgotten about he being our watchful guardian.

"What're you talking about?" My friend asked skeptically.

"You're plan," Shin stated, his body as still as a stature, "Won't work,"

"Says who!?" Naruto declared, his teeth already grinding together.

"Says me," my cousin retorted, his voice remaining in that same stoic Aburame pitch.

"Well…" My friend paused, momentarily stumped by Shin's blunt statements, "What exactly is the problem with it huh?"

"The problem?" Shin repeated, "Bag heavy, string weak."

Naruto thought this over a second longer then needed. I watched Shin through all of this, but as always I couldn't even guess at what he was thinking, all I knew was that the eyes behind the sunglasses never left my friend.

"What would you suggest then? Huh?" Naruto shot, most likely frustrated at his inability to continue to the argument, "More string? Less flour? Forget plan? Try again?"

The only indication that Shin was aggravated by this was that his answer took a little longer than his previous ones.

"Thick rope," He replied, reaching into his dark green coat and, to my extreme surprise, pulling out a rope that was coiled around his arms in a perfect circle, "Much tougher."

Then, without warning, he threw the rope at Naruto. My poor friend only having enough time to let out a squeak before the heavy material collided with his little body, sending them both to the ground. In an instant I rushed over to him, kneeling down I tried to help him untangle his body out of the rope.

"What the heck was that for!?" Naruto declared in the direction where Shin was standing, yet when I looked over he was no longer there. I felt my whole body suddenly tense at the realization that he was gone. Ever since yesterday my friend was all he could see, he was surely planning something; did he choose now to strike? In broad daylight?

The newly invoked fear shook my body loose again and I quickly returned to freeing Naruto. Yet as he and I tugged at the thick rope it didn't even budge, in fact, it seemed to pull against our actions. To our further horror it began to move on its own, quickly shifting around my friend's body.

"It's going to kill me!" Naruto shrieked, tugging viciously at the rope entwining around him, "Shino stop it! Please stop-!"

His voice cut off so suddenly I was forced to look up at him, only to find that he was fast asleep.

"Naruto?" I asked, reaching out to touch him, "What-?"

Yet my question died in my throat. In an instant I felt a familiar, uncontrollable drowsiness begin to overtake my body, and it was taking control fast. As the rope continued to ensnare Naruto and I began to unconsciously sink to the ground I couldn't help but notice, through the growing haze in my eyes, the slight movements of countless bugs moving around the entirety of the rope. They stopped their movements once the rope had completely trapped Naruto's legs and arms to his body and simply stood their…excreting their invisible poison…

XXXXXX

xxxxx

"Well, well what do we have here?" The leader said out loud as the trio landed beside the sleeping children, his eyes, in particular, focused on the blonde one, "Looks like someone has been doing our work for us."

"There are bugs covering that demon's body…" the thinner of the three noted, the eyes behind his animal mask constantly searching, "More Aburame tricks?"

"One way to find out," the bulky one declared, stepping forward he began to form a multitude of hand signs, his large hands moving in a blur, when he finished he sucked in a deep breath and cried out, **"Wind Style: Air Current no Jutsu!"**

The words rolled of his tongue almost musically and he released his breath into a strong gust of wind, the air stream effectively blowing off the bugs coating the blonde headed boy and the Aburame child. The cloaked leader held out a simple glass jar, a second later a single parasitic beetle floated helplessly inside of it.

"It's excreting a sleeping gas," He deduced almost automatically, holding up the jar to his masked face, "It's weak, but combined with a few hundred of its friends and it will knock you out in seconds."

"Looks like our little 'helper' isn't playing around here," the thin ANBU dressed man muttered eagerly, his hand on his waist, close to the holster of his sword.

"Remember what our goal is," the leader reminded the swordsman while nodding at the larger man, the man in turn moved over an scooped up the unconscious boys in each of his massive arms, "We do not fight unless we need to, we do not kill unless-."

The leader was interrupted, however, when the trio was forced to jump back as three shuriken sunk into the ground that they had occupied a second ago. All at once three masked faces rose to confront their sudden attacker.

What they saw was a simple teenage boy, dressed in a coat of brown and dark green, hands in his pockets and face shielded by a collar and sunglasses. In a smooth motion his right hand left his pocket and reached into his coat, what came out almost made the thin man quiver in excitement. A sword, a simple, elegant, glinting samurai sword. The smile grew wide beneath his mask.

His eyes searched, no civilians in sight, they had timed their attack perfectly. It was midday, meaning that most of the villagers were well into the market section of Konoha, which was a very good distance away from their current location, also meaning that any bloodcurdling screams by either enemy or straggling civilian would be next to impossible to hear. Perfect, perfect timing.

"Let me handle him," the swordsmen said to his companions, not caring that the Aburame could most likely hear him, "You guys push on ahead."

"That is not part of the plan," their leader reminded him, turning his masked face slightly in his direction, "Do not be distracted with your foolish ambitions."

_Foolish!? _The thin man glared at his leader through the ANBU mask, _Is that what that bastard just said!?_

Yet before he could retort to this the Aburame boy attacked, or rather, his shuriken attacked for him. The three knives that had previously missed the three assassins suddenly exploded with life.

The swordsman was momentarily thrown into a horrid flashback of the numerous times he dueled with his genjutsu companion. Her ability to make any inanimate object appear to instantaneously grow into plant life with severe killing intent always kept him on his toes, even when he knew it was just a trick.

Only this move wasn't just some trick. It was real life with real chances of death, and it moved a lot faster than the plants.

The three disguised ANBU leapt from their spots once again as the clouds of parasitic beetles pursued them. Though, even as the swordsman ran and dodged the thousands of assailants his eyes never left the Aburame and his sword, as they leapt onto the rooftops and began to make their way away from him the thin man hoped the teen would continue the pursuit, that he would choose _him_ to chase.

Instead, as the man did another rolling dodge to avoid the beetles, the Aburame man burst into yet another cloud of his insects. The swordsman halted where he landed, staring in disbelief at where the enemy previously had been standing meters away.

_He was a clone!?_

With the sudden realization that he could be caught off guard at any moment the thin man unsheathed his sword with practiced grace and speed. In another swift movement he turned on his insect pursuers and sliced into the buzzing mass with one smooth vertical stroke. He knew he could cause no physical damage to the near microscopic parasites but the attack created a clear opening inside the cloud, enough for him to burst through the other side.

He continued running past them, hoping that his unexpected move would buy him a little time; he only needed seconds to prepare for when that Aburame made his next strike. Although, that couldn't be said for his fellow teammates…

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his cloaked leader, far to his left, give him the nod. The thin man returned it, knowing know was the time to enact phase two. It was his favorite phase, for it had the highest chances of death.

As soon as the thought entered his mind the swordsman's eyes began searching again, only to be interrupted by a pained cry echoing in the air above him. The man looked up as he ran, he saw his Ninjutsu companion on the roof of the building above him, only he wasn't running but falling, a fresh cut streaking down his right arm.

The bulky man landed on shaky feet in front of his thin companion. The swordsman stopped in response but quickly checked over his shoulder, no clouds of chakra devouring insects at his tail anymore. His eyes scanned the immediate area around them, no sign of _any_ form of life at that matter, which included both their leader and their attacker.

With those thoughts in mind the swordsman turned his attention back to his companion.

"So, what the hell happened to you?"

"Leader fucked up," the burly man replied as he sucked in gasps of air, the cut was bad, at this level of closeness the Taijutsu master could see that it was several inches deep and the blood flow was tremendous, "I'm defenseless without the use of my arms, and yet the little shit gives me _both_ kids to hold, that Aburame guy knew I would be the easiest target and attacked me from seemingly nowhere, I don't know where he or our dumbass leader is now but if something doesn't change I'll be dead and our little packages will be back in their hands again. "

The damaged arm held the demon child, and while he had enough control to keep the boy from free falling from the roof the thin man could easily see the arm quivering as it tried to hold the weight through the pain.

"Give me the boy," the swordsman ordered, sheathing his sword so he could hold out both arms to his companion, "I don't necessarily need my arms to defend myself."

The bulky man nodded immediately to the change of plans, the pain must have been great, "Glad _someone_ is thinking around here."

He handed over the blonde child to the swordsmen, who nearly buckled under the weight of him.

"What's wrong?" the Ninjutsu master asked mockingly, flexing his now free arm, "The child too much for you?"

"Shut it," His companion shot back, throwing the boy over his shoulders, "Now let's move, leader or no leader we have to get to the woods bef-."

For the third time their chat was interrupted and the two were forced to move, a second later a cloud of insects collided into the ground they had been standing in.

"You won't get the better of me this time you little fuck!" the bulky man declared before forming his hand signs using the damaged arm. Even using only one hand the Taijutsu master knew his companion's attacks would be strong.

"**Wind Style: Deadly Funnel no Jutsu!"**

The air escaped his lips once again only now it was concentrated into a downwards spiral, the formation colliding into the cloud of insects like a perfectly timed arrow. Almost simultaneously the jutsu erupted, the air bursting from within the beetles and sending them sailing into thousands of directions at once, many destined to not land for miles. The force of the technique pushed the two assassins back even farther while they were in mid air, causing them to land nearly 100 feet from their intended position.

"A little much don't you think?" the swordsmen quipped to his companion when they landed on a rooftop. The bulky man shrugged in response.

"Just showing the twerp that we mean business." He replied, the thin man could almost sense the smile behind the toad mask.

"Whatever," He shot before leaping into the air, the Ninjutsu man following right after. And behind them the Aburame teen.

"The guy doesn't give up easily does he?" the bulky man asked out loud when he noticed the figure tailing them.

"That only makes this mission a little more entertaining," the thin one replied, keeping his eyes away from the attacker.

He knew he was nearing a breaking point, the option to fight an extremely skilled opponent, one trained with a sword no less was right there in his face, but he knew he had to control himself. Even as a child his drive to fight to the death was unparalleled with any of his clan; each sparring match involving him came with the high chance of someone being sent to the hospital. His old sensei, trying to restrain his hunger for challenge and fighting of this level, attempted to teach the young boy techniques and jutsu to help control such drives. As luck would have it the boy in question never grew fond of using jutsu of _any_ sort, preferring the more _challenging _and _deadly_ practice of focusing primarily on Taijutsu.

When the time came that the boy, now a young man, would graduate from his title as a gennin his master gave him one final test, a match between himself and his student. The sight wasn't pretty. The drive the man felt to be able to kill his own teacher became too much, quickly overwhelming the years of training under his sensei, the years of sharing experiences and becoming more than just sensei and student, but friends.

When the sparring match was over there was hardly enough of the man's sensei left to identify who he ever was.

XXXXXXXX

_Aburame Amaya_

Another series of vines erupted from the walls around me, and at the same time, another wave of my loyal beetles erupted from my body to diffuse them. I knew the plant life was just an illusion, I knew that the walls, the floors, the roof, everything was completely harmless against my endless wave of genjutsu proof insects. But still the attacks came, still the room continued to grow, and still my dear husband was being consumed.

He just lay there, as I danced mere feet from his fallen form, I being unsure if he was alive or dead. His face to the wooden ground, his upper body still but his lower body alive with life. Already his legs had completely transformed into a garden of vines, flowers, thorns, ferns- and it didn't stop there. Yet every time I tried to approach my dear Shibi the vines would come, either from the foliage that had grown from his lower body or from the always reaching grass that was consuming the ground I stood on.

Time was quickly running out, illusion or not. Whoever this genjutsu artist was he would not show himself until the plants had finished their job and despite my knowledge of them not being real the plants' master would finish the job they started. For he was very real.

Realizing this I halted, for the first time since entering this room. The vines came for me again, naturally, only this time they extended from the roof. On instinct I felt my will reaching out towards my faithful beetles but right before I could give them a complete order a sudden realization hit me like a dead weight. The following instinct forced my body to the ground, ducking from the vines that an instant later pierced through the air above me like an arrow, jamming themselves into the oak brown wood, easily splintering it. I quickly rolled my small frame away from it, to avoid a possible counterattack.

I stood back up, my eyes now darting over the ever growing life all around me, my breath coming in pants more out of shock than weariness.

My beetles…

My faithful companions…

They were disappearing.

I have been such a fool. Ever since I had entered this room all I have been doing is sending wave after wave of my insects at the imaginary plant life, not giving them a second thought, not expecting them to go anywhere besides back into my body. But they did go elsewhere, and they never returned.

Already I was feeling it, the significant weakness in my body, over half my beetles missing from me. So many years I had been relying solely on them, I will not last long in this state, let alone fight, let alone save my own husband.

I gazed at him now. Still silent and unmoving on the ground, the plants still growing from his body, they were sprouting from his back now, steadily reaching his head. And real or fake, once that happened I knew there would be no hope.

I had been blinded so easily, I had underestimated so easily. The enemy picked his bait expertly, and now, he would have his first catch of the day.

"Forgive me," I whispered, my right arm slowly rising from my side, "Shiro, I _am_ a fool."

The vines came, from all sides now, and this time I did nothing to stop them.

They attacked ruthlessly and violently. The first vine launched from behind me, striking me from the back of the head, I felt the spot blossom in bright pain but I was pulled from it as the vine finished its attack by wrapping itself tightly around my neck, splitting the hood from my head and knocking the shades from my face. The rest attacked an instant later.

They stroke and constricted various parts of my body, my legs, my waist and left arm, and finally the single arm that was halfway in the air. The force of the attack nearly sent me to the now completely grassy floor but I managed to keep my ground, that is, until the thorns sprouted. From every spot of the green extensions the scarlet needles grew inches into my skin, tearing through the cloak, tearing through the muscle.

I let out a cry of pain as I felt myself fall to my knees. The pain draining most of the remaining strength from my body. My head lowered and I could easily see the red stained grass that now grew all around me, they seemed to be dancing more erratically than their green counterparts, almost as if they enjoyed being coated in my own blood.

Sickened by the sight I raised my head again, the thorns in my neck making the simple move feel as though my head was slowly being severed…and maybe it was. Yet those thoughts vanished when I saw Shibi, my dear Shibi.

He was standing; his body clear of the plant life that had coated nearly all of it. His coat was removed, reveling the face I fell in love with and the gentle smile I always wished to see. He slowly walked towards my fallen form and didn't stop until he was right in front of me, he then kneeled down, and suddenly his face filled my vision.

"Amaya," He spoke my name with such a love as he stared into my exposed eyes, such an emotion that I don't remember ever hearing since we had met all those years ago. He then raised his hand and rested it against my bruised cheek; I felt his warmth, his love, through that touch. How long had it been since he had last touched me?

"Shiro," I called, and even though the pain was great, even though the thorns and the vines pulled against me I raised my own hand towards my dear husband's face. Longing to touch him, to remove those glasses and see the eyes that I had forgotten after not seeing them for so long, the eyes of the love of my life.

"Amaya," He spoke again as my hand fought to reach him, his hand suddenly released my face, but his smile never released him, "You truly _are_ a fool."

My hand stopped the same instant the pull of the vine did. I looked at my dear husband, his smile never vanishing, and I felt my heart sink, I felt the pain inside overwhelm the pain outside.

I walls had collapse, my being had collapsed. The tears escaped, for the first time in my too long of a life I felt emotion overwhelm me. I felt the water drain down my beaten face, mixing in with my blood as they hit the grass below.

"Shiro," I begged, my voice no longer my own, twisted by loss and pain, "Why Shiro? Why?"

Yet my dear husband didn't answer me, his smile did not even fade. Instead, my dear husband began to molt. His skin came off in layers, first from his face, but then bits of his clothes began to shed as well. The bits and pieces flaked of his body, just a few at first, but they quickly fell from him in greater numbers, falling to the ground almost delicately. And as I watched them, the tears never stopping, I witnessed each bit slowly round out and turn into a leafy green color.

Because that was all they were, leaves. Leaves fell from my dear husband until the image of him completely disfigured into a simple pile of green leaves. The torturous illusion had vanished, but it did its job. With whatever will power I had left I trained my still dripping eyes on my real husband, dead or alive, now entirely a garden expect for the face that had been right in front of her just moments before.

The tears washed over anew. Who knew this kind of pain existed but who knew I was so vulnerable to it.

"_He was right,"_ a voice suddenly spoke through my retched sadness, a faint whisper, a voice that could have easily been mistaken as the call of the wind,_ "Seeing an Aburame cry, it is a sight few can be graced with, and to be the instrument of such a beautiful sight, it is an ecstasy beyond ecstasies." _

I listened to the words, understood what they were saying, but they meant nothing to my shattered being. The illusionist had won and –a she apparently- was taking up the last few moments of my life to gloat, when all I wanted to do was silently watch my husband's rapidly disappearing face.

_"To watch you, sitting there in your tears and blood, it seems a miracle that anyone thought of you of anything __**but**__ a human," _ The voice continued to speak, yet I continued to take no importance of it, though, out of the corner of my eye I did notice a faint, red spot form on the wall opposite to me.

"_Yet, I suppose, your clan is just good at hiding your human qualities, right? _

The red dot was quickly growing in size, swallowing up the other foliage that had taken up residence in the wooden wall, and as it grew bigger I soon realized it was actually a scarlet rose bud, although at the rate it was going it was to grow at least 100x its natural size.

Even as I felt the faint feelings of astonishment I still kept my vanishing husband in my peripheral vision, the life consuming life now only had a fraction of his face left to go, and knowing it was probably the last time I would ever see him again I focused my attention solely on him and his gentle face, even when the rose had finished growing against the wall, its size covering up the entirety of it, and slowly, one by one, the petals began to open up.

"_Yes, experts at keeping everything that makes a human, human inside you. But fortunately for me, and for what transpired that fateful Flower Festival, our clan learned your clan's one true weakness...."_

My husband's face disappeared entirely, his body now becoming one with the plant life. Once he had disappeared I wanted my head to drop, I wanted to close my eyes for the final time. I had seen everything I wanted to see for the rest of my life, now; I just wanted it all to end.

Sadly, my plant captures did not seem to agree with my final wish. Instead, the vine that was gripped around my neck grew its way up my neck and wrapped its thorny form around my forehead, tearing and puncturing new flesh while turning my neck almost into a bloody pulp.

I knew I wasn't going to last long for this world, and to think the last thing I was fated to see was the Genjutsu master that was now stepping from the innards of the giant rose bud.

The only hint that it was human, let alone female, was the body structure, the rest was complete and udder plant life. Vines wrapped tightly around the curves of her body, thorns grew from the ones encircled around her arms and legs. Flowers of every type and color grew from her chest and from the long ferns that draped from her head like hair. The two, small blue flowers, lost in the sea of green that was her face, bore down on my withering form; I guessed them to be her eyes.

"_It's amazing what a little Genjutsu can do, isn't it?" _her airy voice questioned, her plant like body shook as she spoke, the only indication that it was actually she who was speaking, _"In here, I am God, in here I decide who lives and who dies."_

I didn't bother with any words. Whether she desired begging or threats, I would give nothing. Besides, I had already given far too much.

"_Well, I've had my fun, but I guess the leader will want me to move on to my next targets,"_ She started to walk towards me but stopped halfway, I watched as her leafy head lilted to the side and couldn't help but guess that she was smiling at me, _"Do not worry, I promise to send Shibi and his darling wife your regards."_

Almost at once I felt a fire heat up inside me, not literally, but there was something warming in the pit of my stomach, something fueled by her threats, and the promise behind those words. All at once the truths flowed into my previously malfunctioned head.

If I gave up now the risk of death would not just end with me and my husband. Shibi, Amarante, Shino, my shinning student, and my children…my god…my children. The struggle will not stop when I do, my family will continue to be at risk and whether I succeed or not, the risk will be certain if I simply give in here.

"You say you know all this," I spoke, finding my words even through the pain still racking my entire being, "And yet you still underestimate us."

"_So the old woman speaks," _the plant creature said with a laugh, though it sounded more like the slight breeze of a wind, _"Tell me, who exactly am I underestimating? You? Or your garden of a husband?"_

"Both," I spoke, and, what the hell, the harlot has already seen my tears why not see the even rarer Aburame smile.

Before my opponent could do anything further I pushed my bleeding head back, no longer caring if the action severed me, and sucking in my gut I used my remaining chakra to let out the ancient **Call of the Love bugs.**

Like most any insect noise it was loud, it was boisterous, and it caught the attention of whoever it desired. In this case, my dear husband's beetles.

The shrill call awoke the beetles from their dormant state inside his body, and whether my husband was alive or dead they would awaken and fight this one last battle, for the both of us.

All of my dear Shiro's beetles burst from the garden that had once been their master, no genjutsu in this lifetime with the ability to sway them. They soared into the confides of the room and quickly formed together to hit their main target, the Genjutsu master.

"_**You think you have won?"**_She declared, her once whispering voice now filling the room like the winds of a storm, _**"Your tricks or no match against mine!"**_

All at once the entirety of my husband's beetles dove at her. From my position it looked as if a dark cloud was preparing to consume everything, only this cloud buzzed and called with a life of its own. The genjutsu master's own mass of life rose up to challenge it, I felt a moment of intense pain when the vines tore from my body, but my eyes never left the incredible scene.

Two forms of life consumers pitied against one another. Only, it wasn't a battle destined to last long. The plant creature and her 'minions' were instantly consumed by the swarm and when she fell through to the other side it was no longer the creature, but a simple, young woman.

"Damn your beetles!" She cried out, the wind quality of her voice also changing into the form of a raspy, shrill shriek, "Damn them all!"

I tried to concentrate, tried to get a clear view of who she was. If I survived this it was vital to learn who this woman was, as now it had become clear that she had a direct link to the assassination attempt on Shibi and his son.

The woman turned to me as I studied her, but to my surprise it was the mask of an ANBU I was greeted with, her dark black hair matted over the bear styled face.

"I will not leave you alive!" She swore, her shaking finger pointing directly at me, "I will not!"

"Your arrogance and your confidence blind you," I spoke, eyeing the beetles that surrounded us, I was unsure how much longer they would last if my husband was truly dead, but I had to take a chance, I had to see if my sudden suspicion was true, it was the only chance I'd ever get, "Perhaps, if you survive this, you would do well to take time to think about not only yours, but your clan's own way of thinking and doing, maybe to learn from their past mistakes to better your future, does that work for you?...Uchiha?"

Both as I was hoping and dreading the frantic woman started, her body grew stiff and her balled up fists loosened at her sides. She stood there in a moment of complete silence as both I and my husband's beetles watched her. The calm did not last long.

"You…" She hissed, her voice, her entire frame was shaking with pure rage, "You worthless…pathetic…good for nothing insect!"

"We underestimate no opponent," I retorted, and even on the brink of death I continued to feel relaxed and assured, my voice now the exact opposite of hers, "No matter how small of an insect they appear."

"I'll kill you…" She breathed, his fists clenching up into shaking balls of rage, "I swear it…I…will…KILL YOU!"

I braced myself for her charge, if she made it through my husband's beetles I was prepared for death. I could feel those very same insects tense for the final dive to claim the life of the very person who may have claimed their master's.

But it was not to be.

When the breaking point was supposedly about to hit, when I guessed at any moment my husband's murderer would charge, her tremors stopped. Her hands unclenched for a second time and her body stopped shaking until a look of impossibly achieved calm washed over her body. I could only stare in shock, the tension in my own body draining away as I watched a woman, who a second ago looked capable of maniacal murder, now looked as calm as she had ever been in her life.

Still, my husband's insects dived; most likely they were in their final moments of life and wanted to give one final push. The woman seemed to give them no mind at first, her bear mask trained directly at me. In one casual move she lifted her hand and gave me a final goodbye wave.

"_Do not think you can underestimate us either, Aburame."_ She whispered in that voice, the sound of it sending a chill down my spine.

The rest of the transpiring events happened in a blur of action. The woman vanished in a sudden gust of wind, her body turning into leaves that were quickly carried by the wind and blew away an instant before my husband's millions upon millions of beetles smashed into the ground.

The resulting collision sent a shockwave through the air, blasting me of my own knees and back into the now wooden floor, the back of my head hit it violently. I could only lay there-dazed- as the dazed beetles suddenly and completely filled up the room.

As the darkness of the beetles began to overcome my surroundings I could feel the darkness from within me begin to take over as well. I knew the blackening of my sight wasn't from the insects alone, this partner darkness, coming in underneath the loud, swarming mass of insects, was much quieter and much calmer.

As my eyes slowly fell closed I remembered the last thing I thought of was my husband, Aburame Shiro. And although I knew well that it was an illusion I thought of him touching my cheek and speaking my name with love.

Oh, I do hope he speaks to me that way in death.

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shinji_

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn.

The slew of curse words ran through my head like a persistent child. I knew I had messed up, I messed up immensely, and all I was supposed to do was to guard the front door.

Damn, damn, damn.

Yet I didn't turn around, not during the whole time I followed those three ANBU. Despite my common sense yelling at my stupidity I did not turn back once.

From the moment I spotted them watching the Hyuga clan building that we were supposed to be investigating I had the gut instinct that something was amiss. But what?

My answer came when they attacked my brother. Their attack was too unexpected for me to even react, let alone help fight. That giant guy…his attacks were like the works of gods, winds tearing up everything in their path.

Yet I wasn't surprised my brother was getting the upper hand. He was the strongest of our clan. And even with that big guy's crazy wind jutsu his companions could barely keep up, my brother only had to worry about the guy with the Ninjutsu, the one in the ANBU cloak and the one who held Shino's friend I could handle myself.

Yet before I could move in the fake ANBUs ran…_they ran_. I followed them, as did my brother, but I was beginning to have my doubts that these guys were even worth my attention, my brother could handle them by himself, and besides I knew my father wouldn't quite like the fact that I couldn't even handle a simple 'door guarding' mission.

I was about to see the sense in that plan when suddenly the plan of the kidnappers changed. I was the only one who saw it, the nod between the thin man and the cloaked man, even though my eyes were nowhere as good as the insected ones of my clan members, I saw it.

The cloaked man suddenly veered off away from where the bulky and thin men were heading, cutting into the alleyways of the taller buildings surrounding us. My eyes jumped from his disappearing figure to my brother, who was currently still giving chase to the men and their prizes. He didn't see a thing.

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn.

"What do I do?" I asked myself, seriously expecting an intelligent response, "What in the hell do I do?"

You give chase, my gut instinct replied, that man is going to attack your brother from a different angle, he is going to hit him while your brother is being distracted by that guy's companions. You are the only one who knows, you need to go after him and stop him before he kills your brother!

That thought got my feet going. The last thing I needed was that idiot getting himself killed. Annoying brother or not I knew my life would be a lot less stressful if he was gone, aka, a lot less fun.

I felt a triumphant smile spread across my face as I began to pursue the cloaked man. Oh boy, I can't wait to see the look on his face when I foil his sneaky little plan!...

Wait…isn't he wearing a mask?

Damn.

**To Be Continued….**

XXXXXXX

**Yup sorry to say but the first part ends here, I apologize for not writing more but I figured I had everyone waiting long enough sooooo yeah. Can't exactly say how long the next one will take but I promise I will work on it!**


	19. Aburame Apocalypse: part 2

**Long wait, very long wait, but this will be the last part before the time skip, so expect a lot of violence, drama, and suspense! Anyways, read, review, and rejoice my faithful readers!**

**Oh and kind of a late response but to both Lyell's inquiry and anyone else's the Mizuki in this story is the same Mizuki as in the manga and anime, just wanted to make it clear!**

_Mizuki: Gee, thanks now everyone thinks I'm a bastard._

_**pfft, like you aren't used to that by now anyways.**_

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 19**_

XXXXXXX

**Death is like life, like shedding the exoskeleton and revealing a new, more beautiful existence underneath. That is why, to an Aburame, death is not mourned, but rejoiced. No matter how much it hurts inside.**

XXXXXXX

_Hiruzen Sarutobi _

The anxiety in my old bones did not settle in until about midday, around the same time I finished half of the paper work. In my long life as Hokage I had grown used to the feeling, and knew its purpose to never be to my liking. At once I stood from my desk.

At once my temporary assistance spoke.

"Is there something wrong? Hokage sir?" Mizuki asked me, adjusting his crutches so he could turn to face me.

"Something is happening in the village," I retorted, "I must leave."

"Well of course something is happening!" my assistance agreed, but his taunting smile did not reassure me, "It is the time of trade in our village, your people are busy in the market square, buying, selling, trading, making our village a better place!"

"Mizuki," I said softly, pushing the seat back against my desk, "Something bad is happening in my village."

"Bad?" he echoed, a look of confusion on his face, "What is bad? Do you not think the ANBU would contact you if something was truly…bad?"

I turned to my assistance fully, my eyes boring into his, it was still there, that edge to his voice, even after working at my side for weeks it still existed…still made me suspicious.

"Mizuki…" I spoke his name slowly, carefully, "As your Hokage I would ask that you remain very still."

"Hokage sir?" he asked, already starting to back away, his face slowly transforming from confusion to fear. I had to act fast.

I flew through the hand signs before my assistance could take another hobbled step, though at the same time I knew I had to be gentle, his body was already broken enough.

"**Concealment Technique! Burial Tomb!"**

Even though I tried to be careful I was still forced to flinch when my arms turned into the look and consistency of mud and a second later shot in two jets, directly into Mizuki. The speed and power threw him off his crippled feet and into the wall behind him, the loud thud of the collision echoed in the room. Slapping my now normal hands together I finished the jutsu, the mud that now incased my assistant hardened, trapping him against the wall while only leaving his head exposed, something I had to concentrate really hard to achieve.

For Mizuki's sake he didn't cry out once during the sudden attack, and even as I began to approach his trapped form he flashed me an amused smile, his long blue hair stuck to his face with mud.

"Now Hokage," He fussed playfully, "Is that any way to treat your loyal assistant?"

"I am beginning to suspect that you are neither loyal or _my_ assistant." I spoke slowly, not returning the smile. As I stopped, directly in front of Mizuki, I raised my hands before me, preparing for the next and final jutsu.

"What are you accusing me of?" my assistant shot, his humorous tone falling slightly, the look of panic flashing in his eyes, "I've lived in Konoha all my life! I've dedicated my existence to serving and protecting its very walls! I've always been your loyal student, Hokage! Don't you believe me?"

I looked into my assistance's pleading eyes but I knew my emotionless orbs gave him no relief. I saw his mouth begin to open, more pleas, more tricks. I would have no more of either.

"If you truly believe what you say, you should have nothing to fear from me Mizuki," I spoke, clasping my hands together, "And if you are sincere, I will be able to truly believe you after I am done reading your mind."

With a deep breath I began my hand signs. With a deep breath my assistant lost his mind.

"NO!" he cried out, and before I could even continue he seemed to bite down hard on something, I even heard a distinct popping noise come from inside his mouth, less than a second later Mizuki exhaled his breath, which now came out as a purplish stream. I took a step back and the purple fog engulfed me.

"My thoughts are my own," Mizuki continued, but his voice sounded much hazier, and when I tried to look over at him I realized my vision had all but vanished as well, "You will not learn my secrets this day…and thanks to this poison…any other day."

I tried to produce a jutsu, tried to release my body from this trance, even as I felt my body sink to the floor. I was the Hokage! No mere poison should be able to weaken me so quickly, so easily, nothing that Mizuki could conjure anyways.

So then…my assistant had another master…someone who could produce such a poison to cripple me. Someone who knew the village…new its inhabitants very well. Someone who knew me.

Someone like…

"Orochimaru… sends his regards," I heard Mizuki whisper before my brain, my body, the whole world-

Turned off.

XXXXXXXX

……

The sound of the front door creaking open woke Shikaku from his day dreaming. Leaning a little in his seat, he adjusted himself so he could see around the corner in his 'study' room, or the 'hide from his wife and sleep' room as his son oh so smugly liked to call it. From his new angle Shikaku could easily see the small figure preparing to take a step outside.

"Going somewhere, Shikamaru?" he called, a knowing smile on his lips, his son promptly froze midstride at the sound of his father's voice.

"Just…going to my usual place," The child spoke after a moment's pause, not bothering to turn around, "You know…mom is coming home soon."

Shikaku's smile grew even wider as he stood up, "True, but why go to your spot? It's nearly dusk, by the time you get there I highly doubt there will be much clouds to look upon."

His son was quiet for awhile, and Shikaku knew his bright boy was lying to him from the get go, he also knew it wasn't easy for Shikamaru to admit how much he actually cared for certain things…or certain friends.

"Well hey here's an idea," the shinobi spoke up once he was standing behind his son, "Why don't we pay your friend Shino a visit? He's been home from the hospital for a few days now, I'm sure he'd like to see you again, what do you think about that?"

Shikamaru remained quiet for a moment longer before he turned to his father and the look of supreme indifference that he had forced upon his small face almost made Shikaku laugh.

"Sounds really troublesome but I guess that will be fine," he replied lazily, hands secured in his pockets, "Let's just hurry before mom can stop us." He then promptly turned back around and began to walk back out of the door.

With another smile Shikaku placed his hands in his pockets as well before following his son out of the door.

"Lead the way!"

XXXXXXXX

Aburame Azami ran through the streets, not caring what the villagers thought as she pushed and shoved through them, though she really hoped they didn't notice the foliage that was sprouting from her right arm.

It wasn't easy for her to break the genjutsu, and even when she managed to escape from its grasp it still managed to leave an imprint on her, making her right arm useless. Azami didn't have time to inspect it however; she knew that her battle with the plant life was merely a distraction. Whoever attacked them knew the Aburame clan very well; they knew no single technique would be able to stop her.

Realizing this she had rushed to where she felt her sensei's presence last, only to find the entire section of the building steadily growing in the deadly greens she had learned to fear. Azami had stared into the seemingly endless life and knew what she had to do. Azami turned from the plants, more than likely having both her master and Shiro in its grasp, and ran out of the clan building and into the orange evening. Time had flown by so fast.

Aburame's always think towards the future, they know the difference between right and wrong, they understand that sacrifices must be made for the greater good. Azami kept telling herself that as she made her way through the villagers heading home, keeping her eyes straight ahead, and doing her best to hide her infected arm against her coat. Yet, even with the Aburame's code in her mind she still couldn't help but believe she not only betrayed Amaya and Shiro, but herself.

When Azami finally cleared away from the massive swarm of traveling villagers she was so relieved that when a force suddenly ran itself into her she didn't have the sense to try and break her fall. Thankfully, the force was kind enough to wrap its arms around her body and pull her from the streets. Azami subconsciously closed her eyes, feeling a sudden sense of hopelessness, only to have them open again and find herself standing on her own two feet again, on top of a building, with two ANBU masks staring at her.

XXXXXXX

………_._

"Looks like the insect is still following us," the swordsman's companion noted as the two continued to jump through the thick trees, looking over his massive shoulder he could see the coated Aburame racing behind them, "Should I take him out?"

"No," the thinner of the two shot keeping his eyes to the trees before him, "When I give the signal you take the demon and I'll take on the Aburame, move on ahead to the position the leader spoke of, I will catch up."

"The leader said to bring the Aburame there; it will be a lot quicker than if you fought him one on one," the bulky man countered, raising an unseen brow behind his mask.

"Look carefully at the one chasing us," the other said evenly, still not caring to move his focus anywhere but straight ahead, "Tell me what you see."

After a moment, enough time to give his companion another strange look, the other turned his head to see the Aburame. He still followed them, dark coat billowing behind him, round sunglasses not moving from their backs, just as he had been since they had entered the woods surrounding Konoha.

"All I see is that pesky kid tailing us like he should be," he replied after turning his attention back to his partner, his tone hinting growing annoyance, "What the hell was your point?"

"Just think for a second," the thin one said plainly, "If our captives were his main objectives don't you think he would have attacked us and tried to slow us down by now? For the past few minutes he has kept an even pace behind us, he is not going to stop us, he is just waiting."

"Waiting? For what?"

"For us to either stop and confront him or to let him tail us until he discovers what we are up to and, more importantly, who we are."

The bulky one flinched at that but he quickly recovered himself.

"But we are gonna stop and kill him though right? I mean wasn't that our plan from the start?"

"No." the swordsman hissed, and this time he turned his masked face to his partner, making the latter shiver in his skin, "That was our _leader's_ plan, he is not one of us, do you expect his plan to be flawless? Of course not. That Aburame will see right through it."

His companion was silent for a moment as they raced on, but after awhile his voice finally came out, hesitated and uncertain.

"And you…you think that you can take him out?"

"My friend, I guarantee it."

"Well alright then!" the large one suddenly proclaimed, breaking from his once calm voice to that of a crazy man, he turned around in mid air, "Just let me have some fun with him first!"

"What are you-?"

"**Joint Element Justu! Burning Wind Technique!"**

The large man barely sucked in a breath before releasing it back out in an explosion of power. At first it looked to be nothing but a sphere of twisting, churning wind but as soon as it hit a tree that was near the approaching Aburame it erupted in a blaze of fire. The Aburame boy gripped a branch and quickly swung out of its fiery reach before landing squarely on the ground.

"You idiot!" the swordsman swore as he and his companion stopped in a tall branch as well, he looked down at the grounded Aburame, the boy in turn looked silently back up at them, "We'll be lucky if that didn't attract the whole damn village! What the hell were you thinking?"

In response the bulky man turned his masked face to his partner; the swordsman glanced to him in return. He could almost catch the smile underneath the Ninjutsu master's mask.

"Just trying to make things more interesting for you, buddy."

And at once the swordsman felt his anger and fear wash away, quickly being overcome by the desire to fight, the desire to kill. His companions knew him well. The thin man took a deep breath and closed his eyes before passing his captive to the bulky man, his companion simply grunting at the exchange.

"Will be ok with the arm?" the swordsman asked, eyes still closed, he began to unsheathe his sword, he felt his body tremble at the sound of the sliding metal.

"Don't worry about me," the other said with a laugh in his voice, "I could do these jutsu with my hands tied behind my back."

"Alright then," the swordsman let out one final, deep breath, and opened his eyes, "Be ready, the Aburame is about to strike, and when he does, so do we."

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shin_

So close. So very close. The demon hung limply from the ninjutsu user's bulky arms, the one that was damaged, he would be easy prey…if it wasn't for his sword wielding companion. Something about his movements, the simple way he held himself and his obvious authority over the bigger one. He was the one to watch, the one who stood in the way of Konoha's release from evil.

"Are you gonna fight or what?" the ninjutsu user hollered, chuckling when I turned my attention to him, "Or are you just gonna let me get away with all this free loot?"

"I see," I replied, letting my voice fall out easily, "Not ANBU."

"Ooooh hey watch out looks like you've got a real thinker to tangle with!" the bulky man laughed, his large body shaking the small unconscious bodies as he held him. His thinner companion, with sword held tightly in his left hand, barely acknowledged the prior.

"I think you have over stayed your welcome my friend," the swordsman whispered, I managed to pick up his voice through my beetles that still hovered through the air, he then began twirling the sword between his hands, the motion slow and heavy, "Now if you wouldn't mind taking our contractor's gifts to him…"

"Yeah, yeah," the large man grumbled, I could sense the humor in his tone as he turned his masked face back to me, "Good luck, Aburame."

He then leapt into the trees behind them, laughing as he did so. The ninjutsu master was powerful, but loud and clumsy, he would not get far.

I took a single step forward and instantly the thing man crouched into position on his tree limp, knees bent and sword pointed directly at me, he was as stiff as a board. I stared at him through my sunglasses, he looked calm, determined, and confident in his abilities a fight with him could waste a lot of time, and maybe even cost me my life.

I slowly began to unsheathe my sword from beneath my cloak, as I did I noticed the thin swordsman begin to shake, almost as subtle as if they were chills. Did he fear me?

"Well Aburame, I finally get you all to myself," the ANBU spoke, his voice echoing through the trees, "Now… let's see what you're really made of!" And then he vanished.

I felt the chills rise up my spine, my hands gripped around the hilt of my sword and I raised it just in time to meet the blade of the ANBU. His force hit like a dead weight, pushing me back, I gripped my sword tighter as he forced his blade closer towards me.

"Your quick," he grunted, I felt my arms shaking under his force, "But I'm stronger."

His words hit me and I jumped from his force, his blade digging into the ground I had abandoned. Not wasting a second I raised my arm towards him and unleashed a swarm of my beetles. Just as quickly the ANBU pulled his sword from the ground and leapt over the attack. I had anticipated that.

Using my will power I silently ordered my beetles to do an about-face and attack. They obeyed, and while the swordsman was in the air he had slim chance of escape.

The beetles rammed into the man in mid air, knocking him from the sky and throwing him into a nearby tree, its branches shook on the impact and the man began to fall as my beetles swarmed around his limp body. I watched his decent silently…anything could happen as he falls…anything could-.

The pain flared up my body in an instant; almost so quick I didn't feel anything at all. My body trembled around the blow; I slowly looked down to see 3 feet of steel sticking out of my abdomen, the point gleaming in the sun before me.

"Gotcha, Aburame." The swordsman whispered from behind me, I felt him dig his sword tighter into my back. I hazily looked over to the fallen body to see that it had become a simple pile of logs…

"No ANBU," I spoke back, turning my focus from the false body to my feet, my beetles where already flying from the material, "Got you."

My own false body exploded into thousands of tiny bugs. The false ANBU cursed, leaping away from the sudden attack. I wasn't going to let him get off that easily.

I re-unsheathed my sword from my position in a tree behind my opponent. I began spinning it around my body, slowly at first but quickly picking up speed. The man was searching for me, and if my guess was correct his eyes would allow him to quickly find me.

The blade was now a simple blur of motion around me, slowly I trickled out my beetles through the sleeves of my coat, it was a technique I had been practicing and perfecting for years in the forests with my family, finally it was time to see how affective it was in real combat.

"Attack," I whispered swiping my blade through the air before me, unleashing a strong gale of wind that in it had several hundred of my tiny companions, ready to drain chakra on impact. They tore through the fragile branches and leaves, alerting the ANBU below me.

With another curse the swordsman rolled out of the gales path, missing it my mere inches.

"Not over," I whispered, and with another swing of my sword I unleashed a second gale, barreling towards the still kneeling ANBU man. My enemy glanced up at the fast approaching force and without further hesitation pushed up from the ground with his hands and feet, leaping clear into the air, letting the mini-windstorm sail under him.

"One more," I continued, once again anticipating his aerial dodge, I jumped into the air as well, getting the best advantage that I could. We were both in the air now, the ground far below us.

"Come on, Aburame," The ANBU called, his body upside down as we began to descend, his calm animal mask staring directly at me, "Give it your best shot."

I silently answered his dare; taking my prepared sword in both hands I swung the final blow. The wind and bug combo burst forth and charged at the ANBU, preparing to hit him dead on. For me things suddenly began to slow down as I watched my opponent face his doom with such a calm and reassurance in his form I began to fear for my own life, for the very first time.

The swordsman gripped his blade in his left hand tightly and at the last possible moment, when the gale was less than a second from hitting him, he swung. The precise and powerful blow cut through the ball of wind like butter, slicing it in half, causing most of the force to dissipate, yet I could never have anticipated what would happen next.

The remainder of my attack did not go by my enemy unfazed, it swept him up, on both of his sides, both pulling and pushing as we descended. I felt the chills again as I be held this, if my enemy was as skilled with Taijutsu as I believed he was then it was over for me.

I was correct.

The ANBU began spinning around as my gales churned him, faster and faster, almost as a miniature tornado would, only this one had a sword. He suddenly rushed at me, spinning faster than any man could, I saw the gleam of his sword amidst the rapid turning, I had only a moment to act.

I raised my sword just as his attack hit me. Our swords clashed, it was like trying to hold back a cannon shot. The blow threw me down the sky like a meteor, the wind roared and raced around me. I had only a moment to glance up my enemy, he was slowly descending to the ground, his animal mask never looked away from me.

An instant later I was claimed by the trees.

XXXXXXX

_xxxxxxx_

_Just a little further._

She watched the world fly by her as she flew through the air; it was mostly blurred images that past her save for the large mansion that stood quietly in the distance, getting closer and closer by the second.

"_Just a little further," _The Genjutsu master thought to herself, leaves, flowers, and vines falling off her body as she ran, her chakra was failing at a rapid rate. This had to be quick.

"Enjoy your last few moments alive, Aburame Shibi," she whispered behind the stolen ANBU mask, her voice disappearing into the wind.

XXXXXXX

………_._

Aburame Amarante sighed as she looked out the window at the sinking sun. Inside her kitchen the orange light reflected off the many objects and furniture, chairs, tables, the sink, and a small picture lying silently on a counter.

"Where are those boys?" She muttered to herself for the fifth time that hour, finally pulling her eyes away from the window. She desperately wanted to leave to hunt down her son and Naruto but she couldn't risk leaving her husband and Itachi helpless in their beds. Especially with no sign of Shiro and his family either. What was going on?

Silently Amarante walked to the picture on the counter. She carefully lifted it to her eyes, gazing at the figures in the photo, her eyes never blinking. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a movement outside the kitchen window.

"Are those boys finally home?" She muttered to herself, placing the picture back onto the counter and began to walk towards the window, as she did something moved outside again, _'Are those…leaves?'_

Suddenly the front door burst open with a loud bang, Amarante spun around in place to see a hunched over figure standing in the doorway, its arm using the frame as support.

"Who's there?" Amarante asked at once, taking a few steps forward she squinted, trying to see through the shadow of the figures form, "…you."

"Amarante!" Azami exclaimed stumbling into the room one bare arm clenching tightly onto her other clothed arm, Amarante quickly noticed the many other tears in her clothing.

"What's going on?" the older Aburame asked, now taking a few steps back, "What happened to you? Where are the others?"

"There is no time!" Azami yelled back, still stumbling as she walked past Amarante, "Where is Shibi?"

"Oh no!" Amarante quickly turned and stepped in front of the hobbling girl, halting her in her path, "You do not honestly think you can come in here, hours later than planned, alone and badly beaten, and with a look that screams death and expect me to allow you to enter my home without telling me what's going on!"

Azami felt her head fall, not having much strength to stand let alone argue back, her eyes fell to her covered arm for a split of a second, but it was all Amarante needed.

"What happened to your arm?" the woman spoke firmly but a tad softer.

"We were attacked," Azami replied quickly, hoping that answering a question would be a faster plan then just busting in and leaving, besides she also needed a moment to calm down and think, "While in the Hyuga compound there was an ambush that was waiting for us, some kind of genjutsu technique that turns anything into a type of deadly plant life, I managed to escape but I had to abandon Shiro and Amaya when I felt their chakra vanish as the attacker fled-."

"You left them!?" Amarante broke in, "They could have needed your help and you left them?"

"I had no choice!" Azami shot back, strength suddenly filling her voice, "I couldn't risk letting the attacker get away, it wasn't just some coincidence that we were attacked right then, he was obviously some way involved in the attack against Shibi, our mission is to remove this threat, Shiro and Amaya understood that as much as I do and would have done the same thing if they were in my place!"

Amarante stood there in silence for several moments, her eyes locking with the younger shinobi before she averted her eyes altogether and stepped aside, allowing a path for Azami. Without another word the girl began to proceed down the hall only to move a few steps before Amarante suddenly spoke up again.

"I'm so sick of all of this," the woman said, the extreme sadness in her voice forced Azami to turn instantly, it reminded her so much of when she heard her dear Shinji just last night…

"Every day, every single day of my life since I have met Shibi I have been involved in the ninja's way of life," Amarante continued to speak in the perfect Aburame tone, unemotional and stoic, her eyes never leaving the ground, "Whether it's in fear of losing him when he is off on his missions or being attacked while he is here, I get no peace."

"It's just how it is," Azami replied softly, not wanting to waste anymore time but unable to pull herself away from the sudden and strange turn in atmosphere between Amarante and herself, "You knew what kind of life you would be living when you married Shibi."

"…can you blame me for it?" Amarante spoke after a moment's pause, "I was young when I met Shibi, young and foolish."

"But you loved him, and you still do," the younger Aburame replied, "He is your world as you are his."

"Am I?" Amarante said, suddenly looking up and turning her head so she was looking directly into Azami's eyes, the intensity nearly made the younger shake and she silently cursed herself for losing her sunglasses during her battle, "No, I am nothing to Shibi, I was just a Konoha villager he needed to complete his _mission_ to start a family in this village, I am nothing more than just that, a mission."

"Amarante your wrong, that's not-."

"Don't you dare say a word!" the woman suddenly shot, turning her body fully on the younger, her sudden fury making Azami take a step back, "I heard every word you said to Itachi last night, don't look so surprised, you are in my home, in here nothing is hidden from me, though it seems Shibi has managed to thus far continue to defy that."

Amarante took a step toward Azami. Azami took a step back.

"Some parts of your little story Shibi has failed to tell me, but you didn't get a chance to finish, did you? Well go ahead young Azami, I think now is the best time to finish that story, so please, go right ahead."

"Amarante, I-."

"Finish it!" Amarante cried suddenly charging up to the girl and grabbing her by the shoulders, making Azami gasp in pain, "Do _not_ deny me."

Azami looked up into the woman's un-hidden eyes, allowing her to see all the anger, all the anguish, all the pain.

"My mother escaped that night without being killed by Shibi, though she did not kill him either as her clan usually did. She had him easily, kunai knife pointed at his neck as he slept, but in the end she found herself unable to do it. It wasn't until after she spent the following months alone in the woods, fending for herself, avoiding her searching clan, and finally giving birth that she finally realized…"

At this Azami fell silent but Amarante was fully determined to hear every word as she tightly squeezed Azami's shoulders, making the girl shake and cry out in pain.

"Say it," Amarante hissed.

"Sh-she realized that she had fallen in love with Shibi, and seeing the baby in her arms…seeing me, she also knew she could not give me up to her clan and live the same life she had been living, so she decided to give me up to the very clan she had tried to trick for power, the Aburame clan accepted the child despite what had transpired and even offered her a place amongst them, but she refused, no longer able to bare herself or how she lived, but mostly in fear of what Shibi would think of her. So my mother disappeared and was never seen or heard of again and I grew up amongst the clan just as she had wanted."

"And she loved him," Amarante said softly, her anger seeming to fade weakly as her grip left Azami's shoulders, "And he loved her, and still does."

"Amarante," Azami began, "It isn't like that, you have to-."

But the young shinobi was interrupted again when Amarante suddenly slapped the girl across the face, the blow echoing throughout the mansion.

"Not one more word," Amarante breathed, tears now fully streaming down her face, "Not one more-."

But Amarante's words were halted as Azami stood there, the slap had shaken the girl, causing her torn, loose coat to fall slightly, her collar falling past the shoulder of the arm that Azami had been previously trying to conceal. But what was revealed to Amarante was not skin but grass, ferns, and flowers that seemed to grow from the girl's body.

"That's…" Amarante breathed as her eyes widened. In turn Azami looked from her shoulder to Amarante, the horror clearly written on her own face.

"You see it?" Azami said so softly she almost didn't say it at all, "No…that means you're in the genjutsu! Amarante we need to get out of here! We need to-!"

As if on cue the window in the kitchen shattered before Azami could finish her warning, the weak glass crumbling under the force as vines of violent life reached through the kitchen. Neither woman had time to react before the ropes of life wrapped themselves around Amarante, pulling her from the ground before she had time to even be surprised.

"Amarante!" Azami cried out at the woman as she was being pulled back towards the window. Thinking fast Azami unleashed her genjutsu piercing beetles, the insects flew from her uninjured arm and into the vines, cutting through the illusion and dissipating the plant life. Amarante fell to the ground.

"Amarante!" Azami called again, hobbling quickly to the fallen woman. Amarante did not stir an inch. When Azami reached the woman she realized why. "…needles?"

There was in fact injection needles punctured through Amarante's body in numerous places, lining the same places where the illusion vines had wrapped themselves in.

"The enemy is hiding objects in the illusion?" Azami muttered out loud as she began to kneel beside Amarante, but before she could divulge further the vines returned, this time reaching out from the walls beside her. In a flash Azami gripped Amarante in her arms and leaped from the vine's attack, missing it by less than a second.

When she landed and looked back she noticed that the vines had already begun to fade away.

'_This person's chakra must be at its limit,'_ Azami thought to herself before flinching as she tried to hold up the unconscious body in her arms, _'But then again so is mine.'_

"_This certainly has been an exciting day," _a voice spoke, so lightly it could have been easily mistaken as the air, _"You Aburame's have been quite the nuisance, as they had warned."_

"Show yourself!" Azami declared, "Your illusions are failing so why prolong this any further? Let's end this right now! Face to face!"

"Well, you are different than the rest of your clan, aren't you?" a voice spoke, so close that it made Azami jump from her kneeling position on the floor, she quickly pulled a kunai from her pocket, one arm still supporting Amarante she pointed the blade at the spot where the voice came from, only to see a simple vase resting on a table, a single red rose relaxing in its water.

"You must be Aburame Azami," the voice continued still not moving from the spot Azami had guessed, it seemed to stem from the rose itself, "It will feel good to kill you."

"You do not scare me," Azami retorted, eyes hardening as he stared at the flower, as if daring the tiny plant to move from its spot, "My beetles can taste your chakra, there isn't even enough left to fill a fraction of their colony, your illusions have no power over me."

"Ah," then Azami heard a soft chuckling noise echo through the plant, the rose quivered as it laughed, "And what makes you think I'm out of tricks?"

"Wha-."

_**Flower Ninja Art: Maximum Cutting!**_

The little rose suddenly came to life at the will of the jutsu, exploding its blossom into millions upon millions of red petals which soared through the air and quickly cut Azami's visibility to zero. Azami gripped Amarante's heavy, limp body closer to herself as the petals swirled around her in the pitch dark.

'_It's just an illusion,'_ Azami thought to herself, already preparing the remainder of her chakra, _'All I need to do is call out my beetles and it will vanish, then I can finish this.'_

A sudden and violent pain crashed into Azami at that instant. The young Aburame cried out in agony as something sharp dug deeply into her infected shoulder from behind, causing her to drop Amarante without even realizing it. Azami tried to at least grab whoever had knocked into her but the figure leapt away, leaving her with the agonizing wound in her shoulder. Azami's good hand found the wound through the grass and other vegetation that had become her skin only to find something wet and sticky…along with something cold and hard…

She pulled it from her shoulder with another grunt of pain. In the darkness Azami felt the object that was drenched in her own blood, felt the handle, the sharp edges…

"A kunai knife?" Azami muttered, trying to understand the illusion's tricks, but before she could think further the attacker struck again. This time Azami felt the full force of her enemy's strength as it plowed into her from the front, Azami groaned as another pain began to sink into her stomach. But Azami was more prepared for the attack and managed to strike the attacker before the blow sunk any deeper. Her fist managed to connect with the side of the attacker's skull knocking the figure off of her and allowing her to roll away.

"Another kunai?" the Aburame hissed, feeling the fresh wound of her stomach, she then quickly raised her arms in the air, "Illusion or not, this attack will end here!"

Azami quickly prepared her chakra, made ready for her beetles to flow out and defeat the genjutsu as they always had before. But when the final order was issued what answered her were not her precious insects but instead a sudden and violent wave of nausea that rocked her to her very core. An instant later Azami found herself on her knees, puking her guts out.

"What…" Azami gagged through raspy breaths, her mind felt light and body heavy, "What is…happening…"

"Isn't it obvious?" The voice from earlier spoke, this time it echoed from directly behind her, "You are poisoned…those kunai…"

Azami felt someone grip her hair from behind, yet she no longer had the strength to fight back. The figure pulled Azami by her hair, lifting her upright on her knees.

"Those kunai attacks were very real," the assailant whispered into Azami's ear and the weakened girl felt something cold and sharp press against her neck, "As will be this one."

Azami closed her eyes, finally accepting the end. She had done as much as she could for this mission, for her life, and now, now it was time to join her mother in the heavens above, it was time-.

"AZAMI!" a voice that did not belong to the genjutsu master cried out, Azami's eyes flashed open just when she felt both the kunai and grip from her attacker vanish in a rush of wind.

Azami looked around her, for now she could. The sudden attack had somehow cut through the darkness of the petals, Azami watched as one by one the red petals faded from the room revealing to her three figures.

One was Amarante, lying where Azami had dropped her, another was who Azami guessed to be the genjutsu master, it was a woman…well half of one, the other half of the woman's body was entirely plant life, from the top of the left side of her face to the bottom of her left foot her skin was completely composed of the plants that still infected Azami's arm. She seemed to have trouble standing but where her body lacked the look of strength her half flower half human eyes more than compensated as she glared daggers at the man standing across from her. And when Azami's gaze fixed on the third figure it stayed there, and as Azami watched she felt her whole body shake.

"Are you alright…Azami?" Itachi asked softly as he stood facing the woman/plant hybrid. When Azami didn't answer at first Itachi turned his eyes to Azami, the Aburame girl felt her heart stop.

Itachi stared at her with the Sharingan, a Sharingan so pale and foggy Azami felt as if she was looking into the eyes of a ghost.

"Wh-what…are you?" Azami breathed, her pain temporarily numbed as she stared into Itachi's Sharingan. Itachi remained silent, simply staring back until the creature in front of him cursed loudly, pulling Itachi's focus away from the fallen Aburame.

"You bastardly traitor!" the genjutsu master spat, "Damn you Itachi!"

"It is good to see you as well Kazuki," Itachi replied coolly. In response the genjutsu master's human eye widened in surprise as her hand felt her human face. The hand clenched to a fist when it left her face.

"To think that someone like you can sink so low," Kazuki shot, her body shaking as her own Sharingan formed in her human eye, "That you, Itachi, the previous genius of our clan is now reduced a pity blind nobody of the Aburame clan, even banished you continue to bring disgrace to yourself!"

"I see your tongue is as sharp as ever," Itachi replied nonchalantly, "Speaking of the past, where might your partners Isao and Jun be?"

At this question Kazuki momentarily lost her anger and sneered at Itachi. "If all is going to plan; killing off the rest of what you now call a family."

Itachi leered his pale Sharingan eyes at this. In his body he could begin to feel the pain and strain of his beaten body, he knew his technique wouldn't last much longer. He needed to finish this. He needed to protect his family; he needed to show both the world and himself that he still had purpose in this life.

"The time for talk is over now, Uchiha Kazuki," Itachi spoke, taking his steps through his personal darkness yet knowing exactly where to go, "Whatever you have planned ends here."

"NO!" Kazuki suddenly screeched, an instant later vines from the walls and ceiling grew out and struck out at Itachi but the blind Aburame continued to walk as the vines went through him harmlessly.

"It is pointless to continue," Itachi continue to say as he walked towards her, "You are at your end."

"NO!" Kazuki continued to shout over Itachi's approach, "I DID NOT SUFFER THROUGH OUR CLAN'S DISGRACE AND PAIN TO BE KILLED BY YOU, THE ONE WHO CAUSED IT!"

Vine after vine lashed out at Itachi, all phasing through him as if they were air, the plant life was quickly falling from the remainder of the genjutsu master's body as she continued to try and strike him. Not once did Itachi slow his movement.

From her position nearby Azami had subconsciously tapped into her mother's clan's emotion reading jutsu with the last of her chakra. She could literally feel Kazuki's desperation and fury as each of her attacks failed to slow Itachi as he moved with a slow and calm assurance. But his slowness might be Itachi's downfall; Azami could _feel_ Kazuki close to reaching her hysteria point. There was no telling what she would be capable of then.

But before she could warn Itachi he had finally reached Kazuki, right when Kazuki reached her point.

"_**You stay away from me!" **_Kazuki snarled, falling on her butt she scooted away from Itachi's still form, she quickly reached behind her and pulled out three kunai, all trained at the unmoving teen, _**"I will not die by your hands! Do you hear me!? I will not!"**_

"There is no escaping this," Itachi spoke calmly, making his final approach, "You will pay for your crimes this night."

"_**NO!"**_

"…hello?" a voice that belonged to no one in the room asked hesitantly, making Itachi freeze and Azami look towards the doorway. It was dark outside now but moonlight shone brightly through the doorway revealing a small figure that stood in the door, the light from behind casting a shadow. Neither Azami nor Itachi had enough time to examine further.

"_**YOU SHALL NOT SNEAK UP ON ME ABURAME!" **_ Kazuki suddenly cried out manically, and before anyone could do anything she turned and threw her kunai at the figure in the doorway, _**"DIE FOOL!"**_

Azami watched in silent horror, eyes unable to turn away, as the kunai hit its target. Twice in the midsection and once…in the face. The small figure stood there for a moment before falling to his knees and finally to the ground. Azami finally managed to close her eyes as piercing silence sunk into the mansion. But it did not last.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" a new voice wailed in an emotion so tormented, so consumed by pain, Azami felt herself burst into tears before she realized what was happening, "SHIKAMARU! MY SON! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

XXXXXXXXX

……_.._

"And here I thought this mission was going to be a boring one," Jun commented to himself as he stopped on a branch, he smiled as he studied the two ANBU standing on their own branch across from him, "And this close to the drop off point, heh, such a shame."

"Don't mind me fellow ANBU," the ninjutsu master said to the two in masks, raising the boys in either of his arms slightly, "Just on my way to drop these two off to Orochimaru, my eternal lord and master."

The smaller of the two ANBU turned his toad mask to the other questioningly; the latter did not acknowledge him.

"What have you done with Masao?" said the one with the wolf mask and long silver hair.

"…Oh you mean the man I took this ANBU stuff from?" Jun asked after thinking for a moment, he snickered, "Rotting on the ground somewhere in this forest."

At this comment the smaller ANBU took a step forward but the taller one caught his arm before he could continue. Jun's smile grew behind his mask.

"We shall make sure his death was not wasted," the silver haired ANBU spoke, mostly to his companion when the latter turned on him angrily.

"You know, I've always been itching to fight you, Copy-Cat Kakashi," Jun spoke, quickly catching the silver haired one's attention, "Ever since we sparred at the Academy together it's always been like a little fantasy of mine to one day meet you outside of our village and kill you on my own terms."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Kakashi asked politely, quirking his head.

"Oh, you don't remember me?" Jun asked, his voice faking insult, but his smile remained behind his mask as he dropped the two boys from his arms, Shino and Naruto fell onto the thin branch, "Well…your about to."

His arms spread out on both sides and began to form hand signs. Each hand signing out a different sign than the other. Behind his mask Kakashi's eyes widened in horror and astonishment at what he was witnessing.

'_No…it couldn't be…not…__**him.**__'_

"Izumo, forget the plan from before!" Kakashi declared to his partner, making the younger turn his mask to him again, "Let me handle him alone, you secure the boys and get out of here!"

"But…Kakashi…"

"Do it!" Kakashi ordered, "Now! Before he-!"

_**Parallel Element Jutsu! Scorching Whirlwind!**_

Jun unleashed attack, swirling wind spinning uncontrollably out of his right hand, while streaking fire spewed from his left. The two elements collided at hyper speed in mid air and connected with the tree the two ANBU were still standing in. The tree exploded into dusk a moment later.

XXXXXXXX

……….

'_Looks like my brother has decided to engage the enemy,' _Isao thought to himself as his blade continued to connect with the Aburame, their blades moved more like flashes of light as they ran through the clearing, _'Fool, he will never get those packages delivered at this rate.'_

Isao finally pulled away from the attack, jumping back several feet, but the Aburame followed him, blade pointed outward. The swordsman knocked away the sword as he retreated only to have the boy spin with the blow, unleashing another attack as he came around, which Isao blocked with his own blade. And before the Aburame could attack again Isao sent a kick into the boy's unguarded gut, catching him off-guard and allowing Isao to jump out of striking range.

In the air Isao looked down on the Aburame, while the boy in turn looked up at him, unmoving, unwavering.

'_Ever since his failed wind attack he seems to have only gotten stronger and faster,' _Isao pondered as he landed, blade pointed towards the boy, _'He must have taken some drug while he was in the forest.'_

The swordsman felt his bloodlust rise as he thought of a stronger opponent but he willed it down, if this battle was to be won decisively he needed to be clear headed. At this thought Isao sheathed his sword, something that literally pained him to do, in its place he pulled out two kunai knives, one for each hand.

'_Let's try something new.'_

XXXXXXXX

…………

Shinji nearly hit a branch when the ANBU cloaked man he had been following suddenly stopped in his tracks. He quickly threw himself into some thick shrubbery before he could be spotted…hopefully.

Shinji covered his mouth with his hand for good measure as he watched the man through the leaves of the bush. The ANBU stood there, his back to Shinji, neither moving nor speaking. The young Aburame could feel himself sweat beneath his coat, he could feel his insects moving uncomfortably beneath his skin, and yet, they always did that.

"The area is clear, you may reveal yourself," the man said suddenly, breaking through Shinji's thoughts and nearly making him break through his own skin. He tightened his grip over his mouth as he focused his attention on the cloaked man.

"Is the task complete?" another man answered, stepping from the cover of the dark trees, he wore a black cloak with a hood that hid his face from Shinji, "Do you have Shino and the Demon?"

"Nearly," the other replied, "Jun was on his way with them but by the noise it seems he has been intervened, Isao is currently busy with the Aburame with the blade as for Kazuki…I have no clue."

'_Aburame with the blade?' _Shinji repeated to himself before his eyes widened behind his glasses, _'Shin!'_

"So what do you propose we do then?" The one in the cloak asked, his voice indicating he did not like the false ANBU's answer at all, "If Orochimaru finds out…"

"I know the consequences very well thank you," the other cut in sharply, "My plan will not fail, you are going to assist Jun while I take care of the Aburame with the sword while Isao distracts him, we shall meet back here once the task is done."

"Very well," the dark cloaked man retorted, already stepping back into the shadows, "Just make sure that if Isao is in his bloodlust mode that you stay far away…otherwise consider yourself dead."

"I shall keep that in mind," the ANBU disguised man replied.

Shinji watched as the dark cloaked man fully disappeared into the shadows now on his way to capture Shino and some…demon? Shinji found himself torn as he watched the ANBU man leap into the trees in his own pursuit to kill his brother. Who should he choose; his cousin or his brother?

Shinji leapt from his hiding spot in the bush and back into the branches of the trees, following the disappearing ANBU man. Shino was indeed the heir to the Aburame throne but Shin was his brother…his _twin_ brother, someone who may not be the same in personality but they shared something more…something deeper.

'_Besides,' _Shinji thought to himself shamelessly, _'Following a white cloaked man is easier than trying to track down someone who can disappear into shadows…'_

XXXXXXXX

"Haha! Come on Kakashi! Don't tell me all your famous for is running scared!" Jun called as his hands danced and jutsu flew. Kakashi leapt from tree to tree as fast as his legs would take him, ducking the occasional fireball or torrent of wind.

Jun remained in his branch, Naruto and Shino lying unconscious at both sides as he threw his endless attacks at Kakashi. From below Izumo stalked the lower branches, waiting for an opportune moment to strike, but the large man did not seem to have any intentions of slowing down.

"C'mon Kakashi!" Jun repeated, "I can keep this up all day! At this level of jutsu my chakra replenishes before my next attack is even unleashed!"

Kakashi didn't want to believe the man but as the dodged he could tell using his good eye that the hulking one was correct. His chakra went down a minor fraction with the first attack but these minor jutsu did not even affect his chakra levels at all, if he wanted to he could fire them until he died from hunger and still not lose an inch.

'_I didn't want to resort to this,' _Kakashi thought to himself as he finally stopped on a branch, one of the few still remaining in the general area, _'But this is no ordinary man I'm fighting.'_

Jun smiled eagerly behind his mask as he watched Kakashi, eager to see what was in store. But after waiting for a few moments the ANBU still remained standing where he handed, face lowered to the ground and arms at his sides.

"Giving in already!?" Jun called to Kakashi, the latter still did not move. Irun scowled behind his mask.

"So much for the _exciting _part," Jun muttered himself, he then sighed, "Ah well, I can at least finish this off with a clan favorite."

Jun didn't really need to go through the hand signs to perform this particular jutsu, but what the hell, if his opponent was going to die this quickly might as well prolong the fun as much as possible. The hulking man lifted his hands and clasped them together to begin the jutsu, but as he did he noticed Kakashi clasp his hands as well.

"What? Finally decided to fight Kakashi?" Jun shot, dropping his arms, but Kakashi still did not reply, his only answer was his dropping of the hands as well.

"Bastard," the ninjutsu master swore, bringing his hands up again, "Make up your mi-!"

But he was cut off when Kakashi brought up his hands again, at exactly the same time, "What the hell?"

Jun tested his sudden theory by rising and lowering his arms, Kakashi repeated every movement.

"Well, we might get some more fun out of this after all," Jun said, smile returning to his face, "Ok Kakashi, I'll play your game, let's see how long you can copy me!"

Jun began his hand signs in earnest this time, Kakashi was quick to follow. Both of their hands moved in a blur and they quickly hit the final two.

"Horse!" Jun and Kakashi cried in unison, "Tiger!"

_**Fire Style! Fireball Technique!**_

_**Fire Style! Fireball Technique!**_

The two attacks hit each other at the same instant, the two fires consuming one another and finally disappearing in the air. When they cleared Jun and Kakashi were already racing through another set of hand signs.

"Round Two!" Jun yelled, his smile threatening to crack the mask that concealed it.

XXXXXXXX

Each clang of the blade seemed to echo through Isao's mind, each narrow miss made his heart skip. He knew he was losing his battle with his suppressed desire the more he simply fought the Aburame kunai to blade but he could not help himself, this was the strategy that would invoke the highest risk of blood…and of death.

"You're good," the Aburame suddenly said as they simple stood there, attempting to hack at one another, "But angry."

"Hah! Your good as well Aburame," Isao retorted, not pulling back on his kunai strikes while the Aburame continued to swing his blade, "But let's not talk, time is wasting…and I need blood!"

Then, risking his own head, Isao crouched low mid strike, and while his left arm was still held out from his prior missed strike, he pulled his right arm up against his body and struck out with it, digging the point of the kunai into the Aburame's mid-section. Shocked, the Aburame began to jump back, but not before swinging his blade down, grazing Isao's exposed left arm.

The two then leapt from each other simultaneously, the Aburame with a kunai sticking from his gut and Isao with a deep cut down his arm that was already beginning to bleed profusely. Isao grinned behind his mask as his injured arm twitched in pain, dropping the knife it was holding.

"Thanks for the blood," he called to the Aburame, before he removed his mask, dropping the animal face to the ground, he gripped his injured arm with his good hand and rose the cut to his lips. He then proceeded to lick and drink deeply from the wound.

The Aburame watched silently as the man consumed his own blood. Though as he stood there unmoving the kunai knife was slowly pushed out of his coat. The hole in the coat revealed not damaged skin but a mass of black, moving, beetles. And as the red eyes studied this Isao could only guess that they were coating his entire skin, giving him protection.

"You certainly…are the crafty one," Isao breathed, lowering his arm, revealing to the Aburame a long, pale face that was now massively stained with blood, but most importantly Aburame Shin could see his opponent's eyes. Deep scarlet, with a black design decorating the iris.

"Your, Uchiha." Shin spoke; his hands gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as he pointed it to the blood-sucking man.

"And your Aburame," Isao replied, reaching for the hilt of his own sword, as he unsheathed his blade the swordsman's eyes closed in ecstasy as the blade scraped across the leather, "Music to my ears."

"I must apologize beforehand, Aburame," Isao continued softly, as he held his blade awkwardly in his right hand, his left one all but numb and useless now, "I had wanted to fight and kill you honorably, but I fear that time is not on either of our sides at this point and I…have grown desperate."

Shin watched silently as Isao crouched in place, his feet dug into the ground and his good arm held his sword behind his back. His face focused on the ground for a moment before rising up to look upon Shin, smiling a smile wide enough to show the Aburame his rows of red stained teeth.

"Please prepare yourself for a painful and gruesome death," Isao almost seemed to plead before charging. Shin in turn charged the blood-thirsty man, no longer knowing if he was to live through the next second or not.

XXXXXXXX

Shinji gasped in pain as the man's hand tightened around his throat; he could feel the bark press into him painfully from behind.

"Foolish boy, did you really think I did not know I was being followed?" the false ANBU man asked, his snake mask mere inches from Shinji's face, "Even a blind and deaf old man would be able to tell an idiot like you was stalking him."

Whether Shinji wanted to make a retort to this was unknown to the disguised man as the boy could only gurgle against the grip on his neck. In his head Shinji desperately tried to summon his beetles to help him, but he was either too light-headed or they simply did not care to answer him for no matter how much he cried for help his beetles remained in his body.

"I could kill you…so easily right now," the ANBU continued and Shinji watched as his arm raised, fingers pointed outwards, an instant later his hand shot out a bright blue blade that hovered around his fingers, "What you're seeing is pure chakra, I can use this blade to cut through any inner part of your body, muscles, tendons, ligaments, veins, arteries. I can kill you very quickly or slowly and painfully, but in the end where's the fun in that if you are just going to give in to it?"

Through the haze growing in his eyes Shinji watched as the ANBU man lifted him, still holding merely by the neck, and turned him so that Shinji was facing to his left where he saw that they were in the trees bordering some sort of clearing. But as the Aburame focused harder he saw two figures near the center of the clearing, but he was too far away to tell who they were or what they were doing.

"As you no doubt overheard what you're now seeing is your brother Shin and Isao dueling, and by the looks of it Isao is in his bloodlust mode…which I'm sure you also know what that means."

Shinji's only reply was a feeble gasp of air. The ANBU smiled behind his mask.

"Now don't fret, I will do you one final favor before I end your life," the false ANBU whispered, bringing his masked face uncomfortable close to Shinji's, "Just keep your eyes focused on the two fighting, fair warning though, this is going to hurt."

Shinji's eyes widened when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the chakra bladed hand begin to make its way to his head. He tried to struggle but the grip on his neck was too strong and in seconds the blade penetrated his temple. A sudden blue light burst through Shinji's eyes, consuming anything and everything.

XXXXXXXXX

_**Fire Release! Fire Dragon Flame Missile!**_

_**Fire Release! Fire Dragon Flame Missile!**_

_**Wind Release! Wind Cutter!**_

_**Wind Release! Wind Cutter!**_

_**Fire Release! Roaring Flame Sphere!**_

_**Fire Release! Roaring Flame Sphere!**_

_**Wind Release! Violent Wind Palm!**_

_**Wind Release! Violent Wind Palm!**_

Izumo watched in silent wonder through the darkness as his partner and the ninjutsu master threw the impossibly powerful attacks at each other. Thankfully thus far all the attacks had managed to do was cancel each other out on impact. Though Izumo could easily see the strain it was causing Kakashi to keep this up; his companion was standing on shaking knees and breathing heavily while his opponent didn't even appear shaken.

"So this is all the great Copy Cat Kakashi can offer me?" The Ninjutsu master commented after the last attack, "Simply copying my attacks will not be enough! I easily have double your chakra levels!"

"Why isn't it working?" Izumo muttered to himself. During his time fighting and training alongside Kakashi he has seen his superior do the same thing to a number of their more powerful opponents and somehow manage to not only copy their techniques but to outmaneuver them as well. So then why…

"It seems I have underestimated my opponent," Kakashi said, his voice coming out tired and shaky, "Something that hasn't happened…in a long time."

The bulky ANBU regarded him silently, arms now folded across his massive chest. Kakashi studied him with his good eye behind his mask. He could feel the man staring back; almost as if they were having a battle through their gazes alone.

"Just allow me…" Kakashi whispered lowering his right arm he gripped the wrist with his left hand. He then extended the fingers of his right hand, channeling chakra, "…one final move."

Izumo's eyes widened when he saw Kakashi use the stance, _'The signal!'_

Wasting no time the teen rushed to the branch directly below the Ninjutsu master. After checking to make sure the hulking man didn't notice him he reached into the pack that he was carrying and pulled out a good sized scroll. With practiced skill Izumo quickly and carefully unrolled the scroll on the branch in front of him. Revealing a series of symbols etched in the fabric

"Here goes nothing…" Izumo muttered before biting the soft spot on his thumb and running the bleeding finger across the paper.

_**Summoning Jutsu! Spinning Kunai!**_

At his command a series of five kunai knives burst from the scroll in a puff of smoke. All five sailing directly upwards, towards the large man.

The large man remained where he was, arms still folded, as the kunai flew into the air above him. But instead of falling back down on him the kunai instead spun clockwise in the air, the Ninjutsu master looked up at them questionably but before he could do anything further he felt a strong force suddenly encircle his body from his neck to his legs. When the kunai had finished spinning they sunk their blades into the two trees on either of the large man's sides.

The man smiled as he flexed his arms, they didn't even budge. In the moonlight he saw the almost invisibly thin wires hanging silently in the air and around his body. He was completely trapped.

Jun's smile widened when turned his attention back to Kakashi. The ANBU man had finished his channeling, now in his right hand he held what looked like pure lightening. The energy churned and sparked in his palm and around the air, lighting up the darkness around him.

Jun felt his excitement bubble in his gut, he was smiling so wide he was beginning to chuckle.

"That's…"

_**Chidori!**_

The attack impacted in an instant. One second Jun was standing on the limb, still entrapped by Izumo's summoning; the next Kakashi was standing in front of him, his arm pierced through Jun's chest. The lighting slowly ebbed away from Kakashi's hand on the other side of Jun's body.

The smile never left beneath Jun's mask. Kakashi looked up; horror stricken behind his mask, at the large, unmoved mask of the false ANBU.

"I know you," Kakashi breathed, his mask inches from Jun's, "….Uchiha Jun."

Slowly the larger man's head lowered so that he could whisper in Kakashi's ear: "Better luck next time, Hayate Kakashi."

Jun then vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Kakashi standing there, his arm hanging in mid-air.

"A shadow clone!?" Izumo gasped before quickly looking around him in the pitch dark, "Then where is-?"

"Peek-A-Boo," said a voice from behind him. Izumo quickly turned, but in the inky black all he could make out was a single glowing orange orb, "No more tricks out of you!"

And before Izumo could react a great blow struck him in the face. He felt his mask shatter before blacking out instantly. His unconscious body flew from the branch and soared through the air before landing on the ground somewhere in the night.

_**Fist of Flame!**_ Jun roared, his hand still steaming from the fire he had coated around it. "Hey there Kakashi! You might want to go check up on your buddy there; he really got burned up just then!"

Kakashi merely stared down at the man, his body felt weak and tired. And while he feared for Izumo's life he knew his priority had to be to save his own. Kakashi eyed the two boys now lying unconscious on either of his sides. And to save Naruto and Shino.

"Hey Kakashi!" Jun called, beginning to jump from one foot to the other, "Kakashi hey! Try to hit me! Go on, I won't stop you! C'mon Kakashi! Hit me! Hit me!"

Yet Kakashi still merely stood where he had landed, inwardly too tired to hardly move let alone attack.

"Humph fine! Be boring!" Jun shouted, folding his arms as if he was pouting. Though inside his mask his smile only continued to grow. He then slowly reached his hand into one of his side pockets and pulled out a single kunai knife, he chuckled when he saw Kakashi tense up instantly. "If you wont attack me then I'll just attack myself!"

Kakashi watched in shock as Jun kept true to his word by ramming the knife right into his own throat. Yet the ANBU was put into even more shock when the man disappeared into yet another puff of smoke.

'_Another clone!?'_

"Yoo-hoo! Kakashi!" a voice called from somewhere above and sure enough when Kakashi looked he saw Jun standing on a nearby, taller branch, "Fooled you, didn't I?"

"Completely." Kakashi muttered back.

Jun chuckled, "I knew I did! You should have seen the look on your face! ...Well I can't see it either but I'm sure it was priceless! I mean it was probably all like-!"

But the bulky man stopped mid sentence when a shuriken hit the tree he was standing near. He smiled as he looked down on the ANBU's heavy breathing form.

"Ok Kakashi," Jun said, raising his hands on either of his sides, "No more talking, let's get back to the fun!"

The false ANBU then extended his pairs of index and middle fingers, as he did the boys flanking Kakashi's sides suddenly disappeared into their own puffs of smoke. When the dust cleared Shino and Naruto had become their own simple scroll. Kakashi instantly tensed.

'_They were just clones to!?'_

_**Summoning Jutsu! Parallel Spinning Kunai!**_

Kakashi could only watch as kunai exploded from both scrolls and soared towards him. But instead of striking directly the kunai sailed past his body and went around in a circle, tailing each other. Before the skilled ANBU could understand what was happening the kunai finished their encircling and stuck their points into the same tree Izumo's kunai had sunken into. And just as Jun had Kakashi felt his arms and legs tighten against his body, the near invisible threads ensnaring and making everything from the neck below impossible to move. But unlike Jun, Kakashi knew he was no clone.

"Now…" Jun muttered, lowering his hands near the ground now, "I believe this is how you did it…"

Completely trapped and drained Kakashi watched in silent horror as Jun channeled his chakra perfectly from his heart, down his arms, and finally into his hands. In seconds lightning began to static around his body, a few seconds more and Jun had a successful Chidori…in both of his hands.

"How…" Kakashi whispered, staring in disbelief at the seemingly god like man as he stood there, undefined energy sparking in each palm, and acting as if it wasn't affecting him at all.

"Easy Kakashi!" Jun called, "I watched you do it!"

The bulky man then leapt from his branch and flew at Kakashi's trapped body. Kakashi stood there and simply watched the man fly at him, his death written on either of Jun's hand. At the speed he was going Kakashi figured he'd be dead in about 3…

2…

1…

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"**_

Jun fell from the sky, mere inches from Kakashi, his Chidori disappearing from his hands the instant he began falling. Using his good eye Kakashi saw Jun hit the ground, but what really interested him was the drastic rate at which Jun's chakra was being drained…as well as the sudden, intense buzzing noise that invaded the air.

Not wanting to believe his own thoughts Kakashi quickly turned his focus to where he thought the attack had come from. Yet, sure enough, when he looked, his good eye seeing through the dark of night, there was Shino standing on shaky legs, his small chest heaving but he kept his right arm pointed out in front of him, still aiming for the large man writhing on the ground.

"Shino!" Kakashi called, struggling in his trap, "Shino, run! You need to get out of here!"

Yet Shino acted as though he did not hear the ANBU. His arm remained firm in the air, the eyes behind his classes firm and focused on the man on the ground as his beetles continued to eat away his chakra.

"ENOUGH!" Jun finally cried out, at his shout a sudden gale of wind seemed to bring from the man himself, dispersing the beetles from his body. The moment they did Jun leapt at the young boy, knee out he connected with the unsuspecting child, sending Shino to the ground.

"Stop this!" Kakashi shouted, "Your fight is not with the boy!"

"True." Jun said, mostly to himself as he lifted Shino by his collar, "But no one said I can't have some fun with him either!"

In response Shino spit blood into Jun's face. Jun grinned.

"Feisty one aren't you?" he commented, slamming Shino into a nearby tree, the small Aburame gasped as blood flew from his mouth, "Awww, did I break some bones just then?"

"Hey! Leave Shino alone!" a voice cried as a kunai knife sunk into the ground near Jun's feet, the ANBU looked into the darkness.

"What? You're awake to? That Aburame's poison must have worn out."

"I said leave him alone!" Naruto shouted, throwing another kunai, the knife scraped a tree next to Jun.

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" Jun challenged, grinning as he dug Shino's body into the tree, Shino crying out in pain in return.

"Stop it!" Naruto screamed, throwing one final kunai before falling on his hands and knees, head buried in the ground. The kunai didn't even reach Jun.

"Awww, did I make the little baby cry?" the bulky ANBU teased, he then reached down and picked up the kunai at his feet, "So what's going to happen if I stick this knife into your friend's stomach? You wanna find out?"

Naruto didn't reply or even move. His small head remained buried in the ground, deep sobs shaking his body. Jun's grin widened behind his mask.

"Let's start slow," He whispered to Naruto, sticking the point into Shino's body, the Aburame unconsciously groaned in pain, "Hear that boy? I don't think your friend likes it too much…"

"I said…"

"What? What did you say?" Jun called, smiling as he eyed the boy lying on the ground. In response Naruto raised his head and the Ninjutsu master got the full view of his red demon eyes.

"I said…" Naruto breathed, clawing the ground, a deep growl rising in his throat and in that instant he lost himself, _**"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"**_

Still on all fours Naruto suddenly leapt to the side, leaving Jun's field of vision in less than a second. The shocked Uchiha only had time to turn his head to the side and see the demon child mere inches from his face.

"_**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_ Naruto screamed in pain, throwing his tiny fist into Jun's face. The resulting shockwave threw Jun back into the darkness, shattering his mask into pieces. The blow also freed Kakashi from the threads, the ANBU quickly leapt into action, jumping into the air and catching the unconscious Shino who had been launched into the air by Naruto's attack.

With Shino still into his arms Kakashi began to walk through the dark woods. He quickly located his partner leaning up next to a tree.

"K-Kakashi?" Izumo breathed, his face was completely red but other than that he seemed alright, though Kakashi, having seen the hit Izumo endured, could guess that his mask was all but ash now.

"You're going to be ok Izumo." Kakashi said, lying Shino's body beside the boy, "But I need you to look after this child for a moment, I will return shortly."

"I will protect him with my life!" Izumo declared, shakily pulling out a kunai from beside him. Kakashi simply nodded before leaping back into the darkness.

It didn't take Kakashi but a moment to find the other boy. He found Naruto near the spot he had hit Jun, face down and body unmoving. As the ANBU kneeled down he checked the area around him, Naruto couldn't have knocked him far but there was no sign of the gigantic man.

Very carefully Kakashi turned Naruto so that he was holding the boy upright in his arms. Even more carefully the skilled shinobi lifted up Naruto's black shirt over his stomach, as soon as he did a small swarm of beetles suddenly flew out of the boy's shirt. Recovering from the sudden surprise Kakashi used his good eye to examine the seal on Naruto's stomach, as he did both of his eyes widened in realization.

"They weakened the seal!?" Kakashi muttered, astonished he looked up into the night sky and watched as the swarm flew off into the darkness, eager to return to their small master.

From somewhere nearby a dark cloaked man halted his approach, slowly placed his kunai back in his pocket and disappeared back into the shadows of the night.

XXXXXXX

………

Shin fought against the animal with a fear he had never before experienced. It was an animal for the man he had been previously fighting no longer existed; he was consumed by the animal inside him, consumed by its hunger and lust for blood.

The pale animal's attacks were faster and stronger than the man's but more erratic and sloppy, yet every time Shin tried to strike at the animal's openings it would anticipate his moves and managed to maneuver away from the Aburame's blade. Shin knew it was due to the recently revealed Sharingan that had formed itself into the beast's eyes, making him that much more of a deadly foe.

Plus there were his beetles. Shin was naturally birthed with an unusually low population of beetles, it had been what pushed him to focus on taijutsu training, but he had been cocky during his pursuit of the two ANBU and the one on one battle with the swordsman. His beetles were running low; he couldn't risk sending them out while they were in such close combat until a new breed is born…which only happens once a day. The Aburame secretly wished he had taken some time to train his beetles to have a longer life span like Amaya's.

Shin soon realized that his only remaining option would be a far ranged attack, but he also assumed that if he tried to retreat the animal would anticipate the move and quickly follow him and possibly gain the advantage. Shin was completely and utterly trapped in his close quarters duel with the animal, and at the speed and strength it was attacking with Shin knew he was going to be worn down very quickly.

Shin's mind worked overtime as he tried to solve a solution as his arms became weaker and weaker under each of the animal's attacks.

It was when the Aburame was at his very limit that he finally came up with a plan…though not one to his immediate liking. Still trying to come to a final decision Shin felt his focus drift to the animal's face. It was pale and bloody, its expression so blank it could have been just another mask the man was wearing if it wasn't for his eyes, his eyes showed the emotions his face refused to reveal.

Determination. Hunger, extreme hunger could be easily read in his scarlet eyes as he continued to try and slash into the Aburame's body. It was those eyes that convinced Shin that he had no other choice. A high chance of death is still better than an assured death after all.

So without another thought Shin charged at the animal, right into the animal's attack, right into the animal's blade.

XXXXXXXX

Shinji felt his breath catch, heart stop, and stomach fall all at the same time, even though he was still suffocating against the ANBU's grip. His new temporary vision allowed him to see everything up close and personal, the blade that had sunk through his twin's mid section, the calm pale face of his brother's attacker, and the blood…all of the blood.

"Please…tell me how you're feeling…" he heard a voice whisper in his ear and he knew without looking it was the man who held him that spoke, "I'm _dying_ to know."

But Shinji couldn't reply, even if the grip released him, he could feel an internal choking pain that blocked out everything else. It was _his _brother, his _twin___brother, the person who he spent most of his life with, who silently believed in him when no one else did. They had played and trained together and fought alongside together, they could _never_ be separated…_never_.

A single, silent tear fell from Shinji's eyes as his new vision left him, taking away the view of his dying brother.

"And so another Aburame is broken." The ANBU spoke, releasing his grip of Shinji, the boy slowly slid back down on the branch, his body slumped forward. The man behind the mask grinned as he pulled out a scalpel knife from his side pouch, "You are ready to die."

The man then shot out his hand with the knife, aiming directly for Shinji's head. Instead the false ANBU man's hand met a force that took a hold of his wrist, gripping it tight. The man's eyes widened behind his mask as he watched as the force slowly wound its way up his arm, circling around and around.

That was when Shinji looked up over his sunglasses at the ANBU, and in the Aburame's eyes he bore not sadness but a rage, and anger so fierce and overpowering the man felt an unfamiliar chill run down his spine, something he only experienced when he found himself under his master's glaring gaze…

"You will _**not**_ separate us!" Shinji rumbled raising his right pointer and middle finger together the ANBU realized it was this kid that was controlling the force…controlling the wood that reached out from the tree and gripped him completely around his arm, "Shin is my brother! YOU WILL NOT TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME!"

"Wait!" the ANBU pleaded as he felt the wood that had entwined around his arm suddenly begin to tighten their grip, he knew what was coming next, "Please stop this!"

But Shinji would not hear him. All of the Aburame's life he had been criticized and felt left out because he could not control his own beetles with any level of skill. But now, as he was masterfully controlling the wood to grow from the tree, and strange memories were suddenly filling his head Shinji knew that what he was doing was right. He was meant to _feel,_ he was meant to destroy the man before him. And with a strong conviction that he never before felt in his life Shinji unleashed his jutsu.

**Wood Release! Wooden Grip!**

An instant later the wood encircled around the ANBU's arm compressed completely, crushing his arm like it was butter. The man behind the mask screamed for all he was worth. But, taking Shinji by surprise, the man just as quickly stopped screaming.

"Pain killer," the man breathed, as he released the needle that he had stuck into his side with his good arm, and before Shinji could make another move the ANBU used the same hand to pull out a smoke bomb from his pouch, "Better hurry, your brother only has so long with that sword inside him."

Shin reached out at the man but the ANBU threw his smoke bomb and when the Aburame reached inside all he grabbed was air.

XXXXXXXX

Shin and Isao did not moved from their positions, even though Isao's blade was still pierced through the Aburame's body and blood was staining the grass in a growingly wide area around them. They simply stood there, dark glasses staring into the Sharingan.

"I have to say…" Isao spoke, a small smile growing on his blank, pale face, "You have been…an interesting opponent."

"Likewise, Uchiha." Shin spoke. Isao tried to look deeper into Shin's glasses, but all he could see was the never ending darkness.

"This is the end…isn't it?" the Uchiha spoke, feeling a fear he never knew before. Shin watched silently as a single blood red tear fell from the Sharingan. Shin remained silent until he placed a hand on the Uchiha's shoulder.

"There is… no end," Shin replied softly, slowly moving his hand until it was resting against Isao's blood stained cheek, "Only a…new beginning."

Isao's smile grew slightly as one more blood tear escaped his strong eyes. With shaky hands Isao released his sword and placed his own hand on Shin's cheek, making the Aburame flinch. Isao's smile only softened.

"I believe you…Aburame." Isao breathed and at once his hand left Shin's face and his Sharingan disappeared from his eyes and Isao, the greatest taijutsu warrior of the Uchiha clan, fell dead before his body hit the ground.

Shin remained silent as he looked down at the body. He watched his beetles fly away from the man's back, revealing five kunai knives pierced in his flesh. Examining the ground around the Uchiha Shin noticed the five holes that he had instructed his beetles to attack from, it was a luck move, he wasn't sure if his opponents Sharingan also encompassed the ground below the user. It seems the great eye technique did have a weak spot.

Yet Shin doubted he would be able to share this with his family when a sudden weakness took a strong hold of the Aburame's body. Immediately the remainder of Shin's beetles flew into his critical wound, doing whatever they could to slow their master's passing. Shin fell to his knees as he watched his beetles, knowing that even if his whole colony was still alive they wouldn't be able to do much for him. It was a last ditch move to ensure the passing of his opponent, even with immediate medical attention it would be a miracle if he survived through this.

"Shin!" a voice cried, stirring through the Aburame's mulling as he was dying, "Shin!"

The Aburame looked up to see himself running towards him…no wait…it couldn't be himself…a figment of his imagination…or…

"Shin! Please no!" Shinji exclaimed, running up to his fallen brother, "Shin…."

"Hello, brother," Shin replied, a smile growing beneath his collar, "Don't cry."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Shinji retorted, rubbing an arm beneath his own glasses, he then quickly kneeled down beside his twin, "We have to get you back to Konoha, they'll know what to do, they'll make you better, and they'll-."

"Shinji, no." Shin replied, trying to grip his brother's arm, but at once he felt nearly all his strength leave him and the Aburame he began to fall to the ground.

"Shin!" Shinji cried gripping an arm around his brother's back before he could completely fall, not caring that blood was beginning to soak his own clothes.

"Look…there," Shin spoke shakily, raising a single finger behind Shinji, the young Aburame looked to see a single body lying face down, dead.

"That's…"

"An… Uchiha," Shin spoke for his brother, "I was…tracking….two of them."

Shinji looked down at his brother, momentarily shocked that he was hearing him speak more than two words at once. Shin decided to not acknowledge this. Instead he cried out in pain when the blade began to leave his body from behind. Shinji began to move but Shin stopped him.

"It's just….my beetles," he breathed, "They're doing…me…one final….favor."

Shinji looked down at his brother horrified, "But you're not going to…"

"No…I am," his brother interrupted, Shinji could only look on as Shin slowly removed his glasses, revealing to Shinji pale green eyes that were looking on at him with extreme sternness, "I am going…to die…brother…but before…I do…I need to…tell you…two things."

Shinji quickly wiped his tears away, not wanting to believe that his twin was going to die but not wanting to deny his deepest wish either. So as the blade finally left Shin's body the twin spoke.

"First…I told you…I was tracking…two Uchiha's…I managed to kill one….but the other…got away…he has Shino and that blonde child…I need you…to hunt him down…and finish…the mission."

"But Shin…" Shinji spoke, his eyes drifting to the ground, "If you were this injured by them what chance do I have...I am nothing compared to you…even father said so."

"Father…is…a fool."

Shocked, Shinji looked back at his brother, out of anyone Shin had always respected their father the most, following his orders with a silent obedience, never once questioning anything he did. But when Shinji looked down upon his dying brother the conviction in his jade eyes told him everything.

"You are not…nothing, "Shin said slowly, his eyes never leaving his brother's face, "You are…my twin…I know you…more than anyone…and I see…a strength…a strength stronger than any in our clan."

"Shin…you don't mean that." Shinji said, beginning to look away but Shin reached out and gripped Shinji's coat tightly. The strength of the grip forcing Shinji to turn back, he felt his body shake under the intense stare of his brother.

"I…mean it," Shin said, not releasing his grip, "And…the last… thing… I have to say…is my final request…I ask of you… Shinji."

His brother looked down at him, body shaking and tears uncontrollably falling down his face. Shinji subconsciously grabbed his brother by the shoulders, in a grip so tight, fearing that if he let go he would lose his dear brother to the grips of unmerciful death.

"Even if…we defeat these Uchiha…there will still be…a great threat…to this village…" Shin began, Shinji felt his heart sink. This is what his brothers final request was…a _mission_. "The blonde child…I have…tried and failed…to destroy him…he is a demon of unnatural properties…I fear if he is not killed…then Konoha will…fall in his place."

"Shin…"

"No!" Shin nearly yelled, shaking Shinji to his very core as he felt the grip tighten further on his coat, "Shinji…my only brother…as my… final request…I ask you…to kill…Naruto…"

Shinji began to open his mouth but was quickly silenced when his brother suddenly gripped him by both arms.

"Do not…deny me…my final…wish…my brother." Shin spoke and before Shinji was aware of what was going on his brother used the last of his strength to push him to the ground, kneeling on top of him.

"Brother…why…?"

But Shinji felt his voice…his breath…everything leave him as he looked up at his twin. Fresh blood sprayed on Shinji's face he felt a cry swell and die deep in his throat as he looked upon Shin, kneeling on top of him, a clear blue blade pierced through his chest. Shin looked back on him, and smiled. An instant later the life left his brother's green eyes and Aburame Shin fell to the ground, revealing his murderer who was already taking steps back, the blue chakra blade vanishing from his good hand. His other arm hung loosely on his side.

"Seems he had more strength than I anticipated." The white ANBU cloaked man muttered.

Shinji looked wordlessly from his brother's dead body to the ANBU and back again. As the initial shock began to ebb away the Aburame felt a stronger emotion begin to take hold, shrouding everything around him. He focused his attention entirely on the retreating man.

"You took him from me…" Shinji breathed, standing up to his fullest height, his brother's blood stained forever on his body, his hands, "YOU TOOK MY BROTHER FROM ME!"

The false ANBU watched in amazed horror as a nearby, fully grown, oak tree begin to extend farther from its roots. Its mighty branches swung down and suddenly exploded from the tree, reaching out at an inhumane speed for the man. The ANBU quickly leapt into the air and began dodging around the tree's attacks, barely missing the piercing limbs my inches.

"You will not escape me this time!" Shinji roared keeping his hands in the seal as the tree bent and swayed at his command, trying to ensnare his brother's killer. Yet Shinji felt his new power causing a great strain on him, he didn't have much longer before he would succumb to his own weariness.

The ANBU quickly took notice of this as the tree's attacks quickly became slower and sloppier. In mid-dodge the man looked down at Shinji, he could easily see the sweat and heavy breathing of a boy at his limits.

"Time to finish this petty fight." He muttered pulling out several kunai, each having strapped to them an exploding note. The ANBU then launched himself at the tree, easily sliding past the limbs that struck out at him he then threw the kunai into the tree and its branches. The resulting explosion tore apart the tree and drained what little chakra Shinji had left.

Laughing the man landed right in front of Shinji, scalpel already out and ready.

"This time," the ANBU sneered, raising his knife above his head, trained at the defeated boy, "It will be a clean kill!"

Yet with a curse the man found himself leaping away from his vantage point and from the boy in order to avoid the multiple shuriken that had been launched at him from afar. The false ANBU made his way up to a tree branch, allowing him to see the two ANBU that were approaching the Aburame boy, yet neither were his companions.

"Are you alright?" Kakashi asked as he and Izumo approached, both of them carrying a small child in their arms.

Shinji didn't bother to reply, though he did glance once at the small blonde child held in Izumo's arms. Without a word he walked over to his brother's body and kneeled down beside it, shutting out the rest of the world.

"Shin…" Shinji muttered softly, placing a hand on his brother's punctured chest, "I know you can no longer hear me…but I need to tell you this…this is something I should of told you before but I was afraid of what you'd think…but I heard you say it…you said I was strong…maybe if I told you my story…you'd see that maybe you were right all along…and the rest of the world was wrong…"

"Another ANBU disguised assassin?" Kakashi said to himself as he turned away from the two brothers to the man dressed in the white ANBU coat sitting atop the tree branch, "What on earth is going on?"

The cloaked man in turn looked down upon the two ANBU but mostly he eyed the two boys they held in their arms.

"It seems the mission is a failure," he said behind his mask as a figure landed beside him on the branch. The ANBU turned to see the ninjutsu master, body badly beaten and long dark hair covering his would be exposed face.

"My brother…" he murmured, "They killed…my brother."

"Be grateful that they bothered to spare your sorry existence," his leader returned, "Let's hope our master spares us _that_ much."

"_Master Kabuto,"_ a voice whispered as light as air, so light the man knew no one else heard but him.

"You're alive to then, Kazuki?" Kabuto retorted as a second figure appeared in a gust of leaves on his other side.

"_Alive and well," _Kazuki said with a smile although she looked heavily injured as well, but what interested Kabuto more was what she held in her arms, _"What's more…I managed to grab me a little someone…"_

"That is just a wooden dummy," Kabuto said with leering eyes. Kazuki's red lipsticked smile only grew.

"Oh how easily one can succumb to their own illusions…"

XXXXXXXX

Azami and Itachi sat silently in the destroyed living room of the Aburame mansion. Itachi simply staring off in his darkness, his Sharingan long gone, while Azami aimlessly stroked Amarante's hair as the woman lay unconscious in her lap.

"We should go find the others," Itachi said softly, knowing that Azami was still shaken by the boy's unexpected attack, though they really couldn't do anything after the boy's father grabbed him and leapt back into the night, Itachi felt still it wasn't the right time to bring that up, "They need to know what has happened here."

Azami didn't reply at first, she merely continued to stroke Amarante's hair and stare into nothingness. Itachi took a deep breath.

"Azami…"

"Just give me a moment," the Aburame interrupted, looking down at her step mother's face as Amarante calmly slept, "I wish she would wake up…there is so much I need to say to her."

"…there will be time for that Azami," Itachi spoke after a moment, he then stood up, "We need to find Shiro and the others first though and if you won't come with me then I will just look for them myself, and I promise you I most likely won't get far out there."

Azami felt an unexpected smile creep on her face as she saw Itachi smile.

"Alright, alright you blind bat, just let me get Amarante back into her bed,"

But when Azami stood up with the woman she felt the smile instantly vanish from her face. She had stood up far too quickly with such a weight supposedly in her arms…but that was the thing…it was almost as if she was carrying no weight at all.

Slowly…very, very slowly Azami looked down at the woman in her arms and when she finally saw what she was instead carrying the look of horror took a hold of her like a sudden snake bite. With a shrill scream Azami dropped the woman, Amarante hit the ground not with the dull thud of human flesh but a repeated, echoing clunk like that of…

"Azami! What has happened!?" Itachi demanded of the still screaming Aburame for he couldn't see what she could. He couldn't see the wooden dummy laying on the ground, still wearing Amarante's clothes, the cold puppet looked back at the screaming girl with its blank, unassuming face.

Azami could only scream louder as she looked back into it, the fear and horror taking such a strong grip that, before the young girl could even catch her breath the darkness over took her and she fainted from her own terror.

XXXXXXX

"NO!" Kakashi roared when he saw what was in the woman's arms. The still masked man looked upon Kakashi with a smile.

"I see…" Kabuto muttered as he looked from the genjutsu master with the Aburame leader's naked wife in her arms to the ninjutsu master, hunched over with his massive hands clenched in anger as he saw his dead brother lying on the ground, "Maybe we have not failed…but I believe it is time we made our leave."

"Stop!" Kakashi declared, dropping Shino he rushed at the three.

"Goodbye, until the next we meet Konoha!" the still unknown ANBU declared, and then they were gone in a flash…gone…all but…

"NO!" Jun screamed jumping from the smoke caused my Kabuto and Kazuki's departure he leapt to the ground beside the dead Isao; he easily scooped up the thin form in his arms. Nearby, Shinji looked up at the bulky man, the two exchanged glances for a brief moment.

"He's my brother…" Jun snarled bringing up his pointer and middle fingers together, "MINE_**!"**_

And then in his own puff of smoke the two brothers vanished as well.

They all stood and/or kneeled there in complete silence for a few moments. It was then broken by Shinji who stood up, picking up his own dead brother, cradling his weight in his arms. Izumo looked over at him, Naruto held in his own. Kakashi remained facing the tree the group had previously been standing on.

"It's time to go," Shinji said, slowly Kakashi turned until he was facing Shinji as well, "That was all of them…they took what they took and they are gone…it's over for now…we need to return to my father and Shibi and tell them what has happened tonight."

"You're right," Kakashi said, bowing his head, he quickly walked over to Shino and picked the boy up in his arms, "There's no more use in being here…let's go."

Without another word the three left into the night, all carrying their own inner and outer burdens.

XXXXXXXX

"Hokage sir!" Ebisu declared, bursting through the door of the Hokage's office, "Hokage sir! Terrible news! There's been…"

Ebisu's mouth dropped open in silence however when, instead of seeing his Hokage slacking off and smoking a pipe, the great Third was on the ground, unconscious, while the recently injured Mizuki was going through his files in a nearby drawer.

"Oh…so I see your back in action already," Mizuki said, smiling at the assistant in welcome as he closed the file drawer.

"What…" Ebisu stammered, "What is going on!? What happened to the Hokage!? And what are you doing in here!?"

"Well, while you were out of action I was appointed as the Hokage's temporary assistant," Mizuki then looked from the Hokage to the great extent of damage around the room. "As for all this…assassins broke into the Hokage's room while I was out running errands for our dear leader, when I returned they had poisoned the Hokage into unconsciousness and attempted to steal his secret files, I was just going through them now, turns out the Hokage's defensive jutsu that he placed on them worked well, it seems they weren't able to leave this room with them."

"The Hokage was…poisoned?" Ebisu said slowly, walking over to the fallen old man he placed a finger to his pulse.

"Of course no poison can prove fatal to the old man," Mizuki assured, "But it seems whatever it was it was powerful enough to send him into a deep sleep."

"We must alert the med-nins and ANBU at once then!" Ebisu declared, "Those low life assassins might still be out there!"

"But of course," Mizuki agreed with a nod, "I'll stay and guard the Hokage, you get help."

"No no, I'll guard him!" Ebisu said with an assured smile, "Those stupid medical ninjas tend not to listen to me anymore after I had alerted their entire staff when Hokage was chocking on his pipe all those years ago…"

Mizuki snarled in his throat but he was cornered and had to obey to maintain his identity. So with only a nod in compliance he limped past Ebisu and down the hallway, one hand holding his crutch for support as he walked, the other deep in his pocket, fingering the scroll that had on it the only file he had managed to copy down before being interrupted by the bumbling assistant.

"Looks like its plan B…little fox." Mizuki whispered to himself with a smile.

XXXXXXX

A few days later….

XXXXXXX

……_.._

Kotetsu silently did his work around the small hospital room, watering the flowers, dusting off the chairs, cleaning the windows. Inside his head he felt completely at peace despite the slave labor Haruno was always making him do, it was actually kind of relaxing to just sit there and clean clean clean…

"You look like a girl in those clothes," the occupant of the room he was cleaning suddenly said, making Kotetsu jump. Furious, the teen turned on the one laying in the bed.

"It's just custom!" the medical ninja shot, the other teen merely snickered in return.

"What? It's custom to turn boys into homos?"

"Shut-up you…pumpkin head!" Kotetsu retorted, at this the other teen lost his smile. He blushed in embarrassment, knowing full well it would be impossible to see on his already red burned skin.

"You shut up maid boy!"

"Izumo," Kakashi said sternly from his seat next to the window, "How about you and your boyfriend both shut up."

Izumo and Kotetsu looked at Kakashi angrily before looking at each other angrily. Without another word they violently turned away from each other, noses stuck up in the air and arms folded. Kakashi sighed, running a hand through his long, silver hair.

"Teenagers…"

XXXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

Despite my own frustration at spending yet another day unconscious only to wake up in a hospital bed I couldn't help feeling just so slightly happy to have the recovering Naruto and Shikamaru lying on either side of me in their own beds this time. Though it was very hard to look over at Shikamaru's side and see his heavily bandaged eye and the heavily tired Shikoku sleeping on the chair beside his son's bed.

I sunk lower into my pillow and turned my drifting attention to Naruto, the blonde slumbering quietly in his bed, as always despite what I assumed to have been a rough day my friend didn't even seem to be scratched, while I supported a good bruise on the right side of my face and several broken ribs that I wasn't even sure how I got.

"Shino?" my nurse, Mushi, said very softly, sticking her head into the room, breaking from my personal thoughts I looked up at her, slightly perplexed at her sadness, "Your…family is here to see you."

I quickly nodded, wanting to see my mother and father dearly but still confused as to why Mushi looked completely and utterly upset. My nurse nodded in return and disappeared, in her place stepped in Shiro followed by Amaya, Azami and finally Shinji. I continued to look at the doorway even when Shinji closed it behind him, waiting to see the two people I loved, the two people I missed most.

"Hello, Shino," Shiro greeted with a nod, the others standing around him but choosing to remain silent, "It is good to see that you are well."

"…Uncle Shiro," I tried the phrase, hoping that it's usage would make it easier for the man to agree to answering my question with honesty, for I suddenly expected to be hidden from the truth, "Where is my mother and father?"

"…your father is…still recovering," Shiro said after a moment, I then saw him drop his focus to the ground, "As for your mother…"

"There were assassins" Shinji suddenly spoke, stepping from behind his father he walked up right beside me, I felt my body press deeper into my pillow at his sudden closeness, "We were attacked by the Uchiha clan a few days ago during the mission and…"

"Shinji, please…" Shiro began taking a step towards his son, but Shinji held out a halting hand to him, never once looking away from me. I also couldn't tear my own hidden gaze from his either, even though I knew what he had to say would shake my very existence.

"They attacked Azami and my family and your family during that day and night," Shinji continued, he then gripped my bed spread with shaking arms, I was beginning to fear my cousin…fear him very much, "They killed my brother, Aburame Shin, they nearly took you and…Naruto as their prisoners…as for your mother…"

"What?" I suddenly demanded, the fear now taking a hold of me completely, "What have they done to my mother!?"

"They took her!" Shinji exclaimed, releasing his grip of the bed he turned from me, though I hardly noticed, already I could feel my entire body go cold, "They took her as their one and only prisoner…"

XXXXXXX

……_._

Aburame Shibi sat silently on his bed. Hunched over, arms rested on his knees, the leader of the Aburame clan looked into the darkness of his room without really seeing anything at all, his own thoughts far away from him.

"I just visited your son," he heard his brother speak from behind him, but he didn't bother to turn around, "He is doing well, along with…his friend, I told him what happened to Amarante."

XXXXXXXX

Shinji stared out at the village seeing its bright colors and loud noises but no longer feeling the same happiness he did when he had first looked upon Konoha merely days ago. Now all he could feel was emptiness…emptiness and Shin.

"Shinji?" a soft voice called from behind him. Shinji slowly turned to see Azami standing quietly,

watching him.

XXXXXXXX

When his brother didn't reply Shiro walked over to him and sat down on the bed beside him.

"Shibi…"

"How did this happen?" Shibi said before his brother could go on, he then turned his face to Shiro, showing his brother his clear, dark brown eyes, "How did I lose my wife?" Shiro looked away from his brother's powerful gaze, unused to the emotion being exhibited by his sibling.

XXXXXXXX

"Hey, Azami," Shinji said quietly, turning his view back to the village. Without a word Azami walked until she was standing beside the silent Aburame, she watched his face, so unused to seeing such a sadness sink so deep into it.

"He was a great shinobi," Azami said.

"Yeah," Shinji replied, still keeping his gaze out at the village.

XXXXXXXX

"The Uchiha's were prepared and knew us well," Shiro replied slowly, "They knew that giving us a lot of time to prepare would be their downfall, they seemed to have found allies and formed a plan in about the span of a week…that would only be possible if they had negotiations with Konoha's enemies long before they even left…"

"I didn't ask that," Shibi said simply, Shiro exchanged glances with his brother.

XXXXXXXX

"He was a great brother to," Azami continued, placing a hand on Shinji's coated shoulder, he looked silently over at her, Azami smiled gently, "You know, he once told me how jealous he was of you."

"Jealous?" Shinji asked, not believing it, "How could he of been jealous? Was strong, brave, smart, and talented, if anything I should have been jealous of him."

"Yes, he may have been all that," Azami agreed, but then she placed a hand on Shinji's chest, turning him so that he was facing her, "But he told me that you had something more than any Aburame skill or strength combined could even compare to…" She then adjusted her hand so that it was pressing against the center of the perplexed Aburame's chest, "Your heart Shinji…your brother was jealous of your heart."

XXXXXXXX

"We will find her, my brother, I promise you," Shiro swore, "I'm leaving Shinji and Azami here with you as both and added protection and consultants, I will be leaving with Amaya tonight to tell our clan of the developments and we will begin our search for your wife, I promise this to you Shibi, they took my son from me, I want my own revenge as well."

At that Shibi looked over at his brother, seeing a similar sadness etched in the lines of Shiro's exposed face.

"We may seem like strangers to the outside world my brother," Shiro continued, "But to each other we are family, we are as one."

Then, without even thinking, Shibi embraced his brother. Shiro sat there frozen for a moment, uncomfortable with the unfamiliar contact but when he felt his brother's shaking body and the wet stain on his shoulder Shiro returned the embrace fiercely.

XXXXXXXX

"Oh, Azami!" Shinji suddenly burst into tears and fell into his lover's arms, they hugged each other tight, "I miss him…I miss him so….much!"

"I miss him to Shinji." Azami muttered as she held the sobbing shinobi in her arms, she felt her own tears spill down her face, "I miss him to."

XXXXXXXX

"To the outside world we are seen as unfeeling freaks, my brother," Shiro whispered as Shibi sobbed deeply into his shoulder, "But to each other we are just as human as they are, we hurt just as they do, and we love…just as they do."

XXXXXXXX

**To Be Continued….**

XXXXXXXX

**Finally finished! For anyone interested Shinji's past will be revealed in the opening of the next chapter, so stay tuned Shinji fans! Hope everyone enjoyed my longest chapter to date!**


	20. Who's Who Shino's Family

**Thank you **_**beloveddaughteroftheking**_** for your review and my apologies for not explaining the characters further, unfortunately it can be hard to separately describe the Aburame clan not only because of their face hiding clothing but because of the names I tried to go with, what with the males starting with SH and females with A. But for **_**beloveddaughteroftheking**_** and anyone**__**else confused with who's who in the group of Shino's relatives…**

Shiro Aburame - current leader of the clan in the forest while Shibi is in Konoha, husband of Amaya Aburame and father to the twins Shinji and the late Shin

Amaya Aburame – wife to Shiro Aburame and mother of the twins Shinji and late Shin

Shin Aburame – son of Shiro and Amaya, twin brother of Shinji, fell in battle against the elite Uchiha squad

Shinji Aburame – son of Shiro and Amaya, twin brother of Shinji, a failure among the Aburame clan but who is discovering his roots to the ancient wood style jutsu

Azami Aburame – daughter to Shibi Aburame and step sister to Shino Aburame, knows both a mixture of Aburame style and her true mother's clan's style of jutsu and techniques making her the strongest of the Aburame's after Shin dies in battle

**Well I hope that clears up anything for anyone who has been wondering. If anyone has anything else they would like me to clear up or explain please don't hesitate to ask. And remember, constructive criticism is encouraged! Thank you all for reading and I'll see yall next chapter! **


	21. The Best Prank Ever Plan

**Before getting under way I just wanted to say thanks to those who have been reading and reviewing thus far and specifically **_**beloveddaughteroftheking **_**and **_**Reinju **_**for both their reviews and criticism- I hope the family bios helped- and as for **_**Reinju's **_**question it was Kabuto's arm that Shinji crippled but Kabuto had developed a serum that numbs intense pain instantly for a short amount of time and he had injected it into himself the moment before Shinji's wood element crushed his arm so he could stay focused enough to retreat. I also had forgotten to write that his reason for immediate retreat when the two surviving Uchiha showed up was "new developments", indicating his new interest in Shinji, I guess I was rushing the ending after taking forever to write everything else.**

**Well I hope that clears anything up and if anyone has any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Now, on with this story!**

**XXXXXXXX**

_**How It Feels To Hatch**_

_**Chapter 20**_

**XXXXXXXX**

………

Eight year old Sasuke clung to his father's robe as they were lead down the dark and dank hallway. The boy shivered in the strange cold as he looked from the two sound ninja escorts to his father, none of the three looking anywhere but straight ahead, into the dark.

"Father…" Sasuke whispered as he tugged gently on the robe, "Father…where are we going?"

"Be silent," his father hissed, pulling his robe out of Sasuke's hand, never once turning to face him. The boy flinched at his father's words and wrapped his arms around his body, now feeling both cold and alone.

The group walked on in silence the rest of the way, only stopping when they reached a single wooden doorway. The two escorts turned, standing on either side of the entrance. Sasuke stepped hesitantly beside his father, slightly curious to see what these men looked like. But when he examined them all he saw were two face concealing masks, the only thing visible were their eyes.

"He is through here," one spoke, motioning to the door, "But I must caution you to hold that Uchiha tongue…least you want to find yourself dead…or worse."

Sasuke looked in shock from the man to dare insult his father to Fugaku himself, leader of the Uchiha clan, the best of the best, the-.

"I will keep that in mind," his father said through clenched teeth before bowing his head. The escort who hadn't spoken before smiled through his thin mask.

"See that you do, Uchiha."

The two then pushed open the doors and Fugaku quickly stepped through them, followed by the frightened and confused Sasuke. When they had both entered the room the doors were roughly closed behind them, engulfing the two into complete darkness, save for a single candle that burned brightly on the far side of the room.

"Welcome, Fugaku," a voice called, a voice so cold and sinister it sent chills down Sasuke's spine, "So good to see you again."

"Lord Orochimaru," Sasuke's father greeted bowing to the man hidden in the shadows. The boy couldn't help but cringe at seeing his father bow before _anyone_.

"Kabuto informs me that the mission did not go as planned…" the one called Orochimaru continued, at this a man made himself known by stepping into the candle light and kneeling, his head bowed low.

"Forgive me once again my lord," he pleaded, "There were…complications."

"I am well aware of that, Kabuto," Orochimaru spoke, "We shall keep an eye on your…Shinji, but that is not why I have summoned my Uchiha friends here."

"…Of course, my apologies my lord," Kabuto replied before rising and stepping back into the darkness, though before he did Sasuke took notice that one of his arms was heavily bandaged and held in a sling.

"Now, Fugaku, as my assistant tells me you and your 'elite' group of Uchiha did not manage to overcome the Aburame clan, nor did you manage to capture Shino or my demon…"

"I beg for your forgiveness," Sasuke's father pleaded, bowing low once again, "My team was unprepared for both the interference of Kakashi and my… Itachi."

"Yes yes, I know of the details to your failure Fugaku and those responsible will be examined and dealt with in time…but again, that is not why I have summoned you…"

Suddenly light filled the room as numerous torches were lit around the oval cave, revealing to Sasuke and his father the still kneeling Kabuto, a single throne and a thin, pale man sitting in it.

"My lord," Fugaku breathed, falling on one knee and bowing his head, "I am not worthy!"

Sasuke looked horror stricken at his father, disgracing himself so much over one man…

"Boy," his father then hissed to Sasuke, "Have you no shame? Bow before those you can only dream to compare."

Yet for once Sasuke did not obey his father, only looked down at him with stricken surprise. Fugaku's face began to contort into a furious rage before the pale man raised his arm.

"Please, Fugaku, this is unnecessary," Orochimaru spoke, "Now, rise, I insist."

"As you wish, my lord," Fugaku replied, shooting his son one more dirty look before standing on his feet, facing the throne.

"Fugaku, you have been a very valuable resource and ally over these past few years," Orochimaru continued, "With you and your clan's help I have achieved much more than I would have thought to in such a short time."

"I and the Uchiha clan are honored to serve you, my lord," Fugaku said, bowing his head.

"Yes…" the pale man said slowly as he relaxed further into his chair, "And I believe it is due time that I reward those who have served me so well."

"My lord?" Fugaku said eagerly, raising his head.

"But there is…one more thing I require from your clan…" Sasuke felt his entire body grow cold when the pale man's yellow, snake like eyes turned their attention slowly on him. Fugaku noticed as well.

"My son?"

"I am in need of…an apprentice," Orochimaru spoke slowly, "My position is full of dangers, you see, and I find myself needing an individual who will take my place should I ever fall victim to the numerous…fatalities around me…"

"My lord, I am honored that you would choose one from my clan," Fugaku said quickly, "But surely you would prefer someone of more skill…or promise."

Sasuke felt his sudden fear of the pale man dwindle as his father's harsh, uncaring words hurt him, reminding him of how his life was full of failures and wasted efforts to try to please his father.

Unknowingly Orochimaru studied the child as Sasuke quietly suffered inside.

"No, Fugaku, I am afraid only your son would suffice as my apprentice," the Konoha traitor said and when Sasuke looked back up at him in shock Orochimaru smiled back, "I require a child so as to easily teach them and have more time for them to learn…and as my spies tell me Sasuke can already form the Sharingan…"

"…That…cannot be…" Fugaku said in shock, looking from his master to his son, "Sasuke…you…"

But Sasuke did not look back at his father, his eyes were fixed on the pale man…the one they called Lord Orochimaru. In return the pale man looked back at him with kind yellow eyes and a warm smile. Slowly Sasuke began to feel his fear slip away…

"We will discuss this later," Fugaku suddenly said, grabbing Sasuke's arm, "I need to console with my clan…if you do not mind my lord…"

"Take all the time you need, Fugaku," Orochimaru said with a smile, waving him away. Fugaku merely nodded back before exiting through the door, dragging his son behind him.

"You certainly have a way with children," Kabuto noted whenever the two had long gone. Orochimaru's snake smile grew, his long tongue escaped from his mouth, licking his lips.

"It helps when they have a troubled past…and troubled parents." Orochimaru hissed, he then turned his head to his assistant, "Now, tell me more of the one success during your mission Kabuto, tell me more of...Aburame Amarante."

XXXXXXXX

**4 years later…**

XXXXXXXX

I was out of my shell, and I didn't like it. It was cold and dark, so dark that I couldn't even see a foot from my face but still I walked, I explored. The cold itself didn't whip or lash at me like the wind but remained still and solitary inside me.

As I walked through the nothingness outside my shell I gradually felt waves of emotions enter and leave my head, they came in one at a time, happiness, sadness, anger, fear, jealousy, repeating over themselves in a never ending cycle.

One second I would feel happy that I finally left my secluded place, I was able to freely move my body, do what I please and how I pleased to. The next second I would feel sad, I would miss my shell, longing for its comfort and warmth and security. Another second and I would be furious, hating and loathing myself for ever thinking about leaving and hating everything around me for causing me to leave.

I walked silently in this strange form of torture, and as I continued to move I began to see shapes blur and make themselves known through the blackness. I watched as they quickly took human shapes, very soon I found myself surrounded by the people I knew: Kotetsu, Haruno, Sakura, Iruka, Mizuki, the ANBU Kakashi, Hinata, Hinata's father and his scary eyes, Shikamaru and his father and mother, Sasuke, Fugaku, the Hokage. I walked past them silently and they watched me silently in return as I passed.

Beyond them more images began to shimmer, forming their own bodies, I already knew who they would be before I even reached them. Slowly the forms of Shiro, Amaya, Azami, Shin and Shinji took shape they stood side by side in a tight wall before me; all had their cloaks on with their hoods up. They stood with hands folded down their front and with their heads looking down, hiding their faces from me. I didn't bother to look at them as I past.

Beyond my family merely two figures had taken shape: my father and Naruto. My father stood to himself, the eyes behind his decorated glasses stared into space, seeing something beyond me. Naruto on the other hand kept his bright blue eyes trained on me, a gentle smile never leaving his face. I wordlessly nodded to the two and they disappeared. Behind them stood one last figure.

As I looked on at this person I felt all the emotions that had been cycling through me all suddenly enter at once, overwhelming my unsuspecting body. I fell to my knees as the overwhelming feeling took over; I gripped my aching heart as the tears flowed from behind my sunglasses and down my face. Through my sudden ragged breathes I could only speak one word.

"…_mother."_

XXXXXXXXX

_Aburame Shino_

"Shino…psst! Shino you awake!?"

My eyes flew open at the sharp whisper in my ear, the strange dream leaving my thoughts and memory at once. Before I could even focus on my surroundings my blurred vision suddenly found itself filled with blues and yellows and oranges.

"Gooooooooood morning Shino!" Naruto exclaimed in his usual loud voice, erupting me from my drowsy state as my entire body jumped up.

"…Naruto?" I grumbled whipping my eyes with one arm while the other searched for my sunglasses. I felt a hand gently place them into my open palm, "Thanks."

After placing the round sunglasses securely on my head I opened my eyes to see my best friend sitting beside my bed, a big grin on his face and fully clad in his orange jumpsuit thing. I also happened to notice the lack of sunshine to indicate the "morning" he had mentioned just a second ago.

"What time is it?" I asked drowsily.

"Uhh…" my friend replied, rubbing his head shamefully, "About twelve in the morning…"

As I stared at his embarrassed figure wordlessly I couldn't also help but notice the numerous paint cans that were situated behind him, Naruto caught my glance.

"I bet your wondering why I woke you up so early, eh?" he asked slyly, his grin growing.

"It has been on my mind, yes," I admitted, "I'm guessing it has something to do with paint?"

"Yeah, it does!" my friend exclaimed as oblivious as ever, his voice then lowered to a sharp whisper, "But it also has something to do with The Best Prank Ever Plan!"

"The Best Prank Ever Plan?" I repeated slowly, giving him a look I knew he couldn't see.

"Yes!" Naruto hissed excitedly, "The Best Prank Ever Plan!"

"And what does the…The Best Prank Ever Plan-."

"I'll explain after we go wake up Shikamaru!" Naruto interrupted, grabbing my jacket's sleeve, "C'mon we gotta hurry before the village starts waking up!"

"Naruto…" I began, rising up slowly, "I don't think it would be a good idea to wake up Shikamaru at twelve in the morning…"

"He'll get over it," Naruto said, waving away my worries, he then began to pick up his paint cans, "Besides I'm sure he will be honored to learn that he'll be playing a part in my… Best Prank Ever Plan!"

XXXXXXXX

"Naruto…" Shikamaru said slowly as he held the poor blonde boy in a head lock with one arm while the other began slowly twist it's balled up fist into his hair, "Over the course of our friendship there are two things you should already know about me…"

"Let me go, let me go!" Naruto howled, kicking his legs ferociously as he tried to escape.

"First," Shikamaru continued both ignoring Naruto and refusing to loosen his grip, "Never, ever, ever wake me up at one in the morning….second, if you do have the nerve to wake me up make sure it's something of dire importance and not one of your stupid pranks!"

"But my stupid prank is of dire importance!" Naruto shot back, his hands fruitlessly trying to tug off Shikamaru's grip around his neck, "I swear!"

"Oh really?" the lazy boy retorted, finally releasing the blonde who fell to the ground, "And how is that?"

"Because!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping up from the ground in a flash, glaring at his assaulter, "This is the Best Prank Ever Plan!"

"The what?" Shikamaru asked with folded arms looking from the paint cans scattered across his front yard to me, I could only give him a hopeless shrug.

"If you'd stop being a jerk and just follow Shino and me then you'll find out!" Naruto shot, rubbing his sore neck, "But if you don't wanna come then fine, me and Shino will just share all the glory between us after it's done!"

Shikamaru stared silently at Naruto, his eyes momentarily flashing to the paint cans and myself again. Finally he let out a deep sigh.

"Fine, whatever, I'm already friggin' up I guess…"

"Great!" my blonde friend said, a smile spreading from ear to ear, he then ran to the pile of paint cans, picking up one in each arm, "Now hurry, you and Shino get some paint! We gotta hurry to the giant Hokage heads before the sun rises!"

Naruto then sped off, leaving Shikamaru with an open mouth and me in a frozen state of shock. Slowly my lazy friend and I exchanged a glance.

"Troublesome bastard." Shikamaru swore before going over and grabbing some paint.

XXXXXXX

"No no the swirls on the Fourth's cheeks need to be thicker!" Naruto called to Shikamaru, "I want the whole village to be able to see them!"

"Well excuse me _sensei_!" I heard Shikamaru call, unable to see him from my position in front of the Second's head, "But if you haven't noticed were all hanging from our lives on these stupid ropes you made! It's usually kind of hard to paint well in those conditions!"

"Oh quit complaining and paint!" Naruto said, laughing hysterically as he rocked in his own rope contraption, he then turned his head and looked over at me, using the Third's nose as leverage, "Hey Shino, how are you coming along?"

"I Uhh…" I muttered, knowing he couldn't hear me, I had painted the blood coming from the Second's eyes and the dog crap image on his cheek like my friend had told me to, at first feeling shameful but then deciding that it was going to all wash off at the next rainstorm anyways, but when I had finished the overall face didn't seem finished so I had begun to paint something of my own…

"Are those...bugs…coming from his mouth?" Naruto said slowly, only having the rising sun to help him see what I had done.

I nodded slowly, feeling sudden embarrassment and guilt rise in my gut and face. I already felt bad enough doing this at all; I didn't want to also shame my friend by ruining his prank.

"Whoa! That looks totally awesome Shino!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, "I was gonna suggesting making a giant tongue stick out of his mouth but that looks so much cooler!"

"Thanks…" I mumbled, tucking my head further into my jacket collar, not risking my fresh embarrassment show in the orange light of the sunrise.

We spent the next hours painting the giant faces. The hours were spent quietly as all of us, even Shikamaru, found ourselves focused on making the honorable Hokage's look like complete fools. Yet the painting was a basic, thoughtless task and I found myself daydreaming as I painted blood stains going down the First's eyes.

Ever since the surprise attack of the Uchiha's on my clan the last few years went by basically uneventfully. Though it was during the year or so after the attack that turned out to be most eventful. In some cases more so than the attack itself.

It took a long time for me to get a straight head. After learning of the news that my mother had been taken I had a sudden and violent breakdown. The end result had me locked in my room, speaking to no one, even my father and only leaving to use the bathroom or search for food when my father wasn't around. Anyone who came even near my bedroom door was immediately scared off by the beetles that I left hiding under the space between the door and the floor. A trick I took from Naruto…and used on him multiple times during that six month period. When I had finally recovered it took three weeks of treating him to his favorite ramen until he forgave me.

Even after the episode had passed I continually found myself waking up in the middle of the night screaming for my mother. The nightmares happened so frequently that my father took it upon himself to sleep in the hallway outside my bedroom, always prepared. After a few more years the nightmares finally began to subside to just about a few a week. I assured my father that I could handle them by then.

I never saw him mourn my mother, his wife, aloud. The last time I saw him show any signs of emotion was when he told his brother goodbye when Shiro and Amaya decided it was time to part ways. But I could still see his sadness in the ways only an Aburame can see. The way he walked, the way he ate, the way he nodded whenever I told him I was leaving for the Academy. My father was really suffering more than anyone.

I did what I could to make him happy, though it was difficult because I to was suffering. I had nearly failed the Ninja Academy because of my mental breakdown. Though the Hokage was kind enough to grant me a few extra months of training each year. During those months I found myself living at the Nara house, studying for hours at a time with Shikamaru and his father. My friend complained a lot but I knew deep down he was glad I was around, ever since the attack on his life his mother had placed him in a seemingly never ending quarantine, only allowing him to leave the house to go to the Academy or if his father was with him.

"Show me a boy who believes his mother cannot possibly become more troublesome," Shikamaru had once told Naruto and I, "And I'll show you a boy who has never had his eye taken out by a kunai."

At first the missing eye had caused a lot of stress for both his family and friends, believing that he would be unable to become a shinobi because of the injury. Yet all doubts were dashed after four years of regular training during which Shikamaru became known as the best shot in our class, hitting the bull's eye nearly every time. Whereas Naruto quickly became the worst shot, this had him resort to mocking Shikamaru for his new eye patch. This was something that did not last long as Shikamaru held him in his signature headlock and head noogie every time Naruto even mentioned the eye. I was just grateful that my friend could still be a ninja.

Once I had gotten back in stride with the training the years seemed to fly by. We practiced and studied until both our minds and bodies ached each and every day. After Shikamaru had shown both me and the entire class that he could still be a successful one-eyed shinobi I found my concerns directed towards Naruto.

His grades were as worse as Shikamaru's, and while my lazy friend had the excuse of sleeping through every class Naruto's seemed to just be his lack of focus. Constantly he would try to get me to ditch class with him so we could pull some pranks, this happened usually after Iruka had scolded him which also happens quite often. I didn't understand why our teacher seemed to have it out for my friend but I did understand Naruto's craving for making a fool of not only himself but the entire village, he craved attention. After all his years of being alone and unwanted, he just wanted people to notice him, to realize he was a person…

"Enough with the stupid pranks!" a voice hollered, throwing me from my daydreaming. When I snapped out of it I realized in horror that I had been painting for a number of hours, the sun was high in the sky, there were a large crowd of people watching us from the roof of a building, and I had successfully painted lines across the entirety of the First's face.

"Were sick of it! Grow the hell up!" Another voice shouted.

"You're all dead when they catch you! You know that?"

I felt the shame rise up in full force this time. I kept my back turned towards the townspeople. We had done enough, we just had to put the paint away and apologize. We can then quickly leave and hopefully make it back to the Academy before we are caught by a Ninja. All we had to do is…

"LOOOOOOSERS!! WANNA-BE'S! My friend shouted at the top of his lungs, I, and most likely Shikamaru looked over at him in horror, "You don't have what it takes to do something this low! I rule and you drool!"

"How dare you!? Who do you think you are!?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki fools! I'm-!"

"_What do you all think you are doing!? All of you get down from there and get back to class!"_

That voice I recognized very well, as did Naruto by the new look of horror that took over his previously triumphant face.

"Master Iruka!?"

XXXXXXXX

"What in the hell was all that about!?" Shikamaru hissed as he Naruto and I found ourselves wrapped together in rope, something I found oddly familiar, "If you kept your big mouth shut we could have gotten out of there!"

"It seemed like a cool speech at the time…" Naruto grumbled. I wanted to offer him some sympathy but at the moment I found myself too busy trying to hide my face in my collar as the entire class watched us from their seats, Iruka paced the floor in front of us.

"Tomorrow is the day the class will pass the final and graduate from this Ninja Academy," Our teacher said slowly, stopping in front of our seated and bound forms, "In short, tomorrow is the day the class will become shinobi." Iruka then kneeled down so that he could lock at us eye to eye.

"Yet today is the day you three decide to pull your stupid tricks…morons." Iruka then stood back up, "This is something I should have expected from Naruto, but you two-" He looked from Shikamaru to myself, I barely managed to keep my gaze locked with his, "I should have expected better.

"It isn't their fault Iruka sensei!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, I could feel him pulling at the ropes that bound us, "I woke them both up in the middle of the night and kinda forced them to help me with this, the entire prank was _my_ idea!"

Iruka studied us silently for a few seconds before finally nodding. This motion somehow caused the ropes to fall from our bodies. The three of us stood up slowly.

"The three of you may return to your seats," Our teacher instructed, "And Naruto, I want you to stay after class today to serve your punishment."

Surprisingly all Naruto did was nod his head in understanding. Shikamaru and I could only exchange a confused glance as we sat down. The second to last day of instruction at the Ninja Academy began.

XXXXXXX

The walk home went by very quietly between me and Shikamaru. Out of the corner of my eye I sometimes caught the ANBU that followed us on nearby rooftops. The shinobi was a recent addition to Shikamaru's security implemented by his mother after news reached the village of some of their scouts going missing our winding up dead in the forests surrounding Konoha. I personally tried not to worry too much over it; I had enough to think about with finals merely a day away and my best friend more than likely unable to pass it.

In the past Shikamaru and I had offered to help him study and train but Naruto had insisted that he could handle it himself, saying that he wanted to pass knowing he did it all by himself. By the looks of things we shouldn't have given up so easily.

I suddenly felt my body tighten, I couldn't help but wince in surprise. I had forgotten how long it had been since I let my beetles out to exercise, they had become so used to being in my body I sometimes wouldn't think to let them out until the days my father trained me. It's been a few weeks since then.

"Well, good luck tomorrow." Shikamaru said somberly when we reached the point that the path veered off in opposite directions, our clans residing down opposite paths.

"You too." I replied before I began to go down my path.

"You don't think Iruka is making him clean the entire thing by himself do you?" Shikamaru said from behind me, I turned around to see him scratching the back of his head awkwardly, his one eye trained to the ground, "I mean he knows Naruto can't actually force you and me to do anything that we wouldn't want to."

"Maybe there is something more to it than just punishment," I replied slowly, though still having no idea what that could mean. Shikamaru dropped his embarrassing look, his eye now trained at me.

"If we're lucky he's going to try and help Naruto pass," Shikamaru tried, "I mean, we don't exactly know too much about Iruka, maybe he sees a bit of himself in our hyperactive friend…maybe he was even a lot like Naruto when he was younger…"

It grew quiet between us again as we tried to imagine the stern, occasionally insulting teacher as a young, prank pulling student. The possibility of the idea left as soon as it entered.

XXXXXXXX

Soon after our small talk we said our goodbyes and made down the two opposite paths. At this point I didn't hesitate to let my swarm out, I knew they would be good and follow me until we got home. Ever since their unnatural behavior all those years ago my friends had been nothing but loyal.

The friends in question quickly crawled out of my body, some staying on me but most taking to the air. I watched them quietly as they flew around, a lot of them looking like small black clouds as they stayed in their smaller swarms. Their buzzing soon made their way into my head, slowly releasing all of the embarrassments and stresses of the day and soothing me into a state of peace and-.

"Psssst! Shino! Shino over here!"

At once that sense of calm left, my beetles previously harmonized buzzing became broken and hectic as they flew around erratically. With a simple command I managed to calm them down. Their clouds dispersed as they flew back inside of me, quickly revealing my blonde friend who was standing mere feet from me.

"Naruto?" I asked in surprise, I really needed to focus when I released them. If Naruto could sneak up on me through a cloud of my own kikai insects that means so could any enemy shinobi…

"Hey Shino," Naruto said with a small smile, he looked around us as the last few of my beetles retreated into my body, "I didn't…interrupt anything did I?"

"No," I said simply, knowing my friend was teasing me. Naruto's smile widened at that, "Did you finish cleaning already?"

"Yup!" Naruto said proudly, "Took longer than expected but that was mostly your fault for nearly coloring in the First's entire face!"

"Err…" I found myself pulling my head in my collar before I could stop, "Sorry…"

"Are you kidding? It was worth cleaning after seeing the look on Iruka sensei's face when he got a better look at it!" Naruto then laughed hysterically as he more than likely pictured it in his head. I couldn't help but smile briefly in the depths of my jacket as I thought of _the look_ as well.

"But I didn't run half across the village looking for you to tell you _that_," Naruto admitted after he stopped laughing, his voice lowered into that familiar 'sneaky' whisper tone, "I came to tell you that I finished the final part of my Best Prank Ever Plan!"

"…There was another part?" I asked slowly. Naruto nodded vigorously and I watched as he pulled out a small scroll and a brush. "Is that…?"

"Yup!" Naruto confirmed, "Its Iruka sensei's special permanent ink, the same stuff that he uses to write our grades!"

"How did you-?" Yet my friend held up a hand to me before I could finish the question.

"Let's just say I had to use my 'special' technique to keep him knocked out for a few seconds…"

"Oh…" Was all I could say as a rare blush went across my face, knowing very well what Naruto meant. Being his best friend I was 'privileged' to be the first one to see his new transformation jutsu, long story short I couldn't look at him the same way for months.

"Sacrifices had to be made though for this baby!" Naruto exclaimed, cutting through the sudden awkward silence, "And it was definitely worth it in the end, now our marks are permanently part of the statues!"

"Naruto…" I said slowly, "You can't mean…"

"You beat I do!" My friend exclaimed triumphantly, "I signed our names in the Hokage's eyes, first name in one socket and last name in the other! Now all four of the Hokage heads are signed and will remind me of my Best Prank Ever Plan!"

I stared at my proud friend silently. Half of me in shock for what he said he had done and the other half waiting for him to realize that he miscounted horribly. When Naruto's head didn't appear to be able to click anytime soon I decided I had to let him know.

"Naruto, don't you mean only three heads are signed?" I said slowly and carefully, not wanting to upset him, "If you signed with all of our names that means only three…"

Naruto gave me a totally confused look at that, and I began to honestly fear that his intelligence was deteriorating.

"What are you talking about Shino?" He asked me, bewildered, "I put four names in the four pairs of eyes!"

"But…"

"I put Shino Aburame in the First's eyes," Naruto interrupted, saying it as slowly as I had tried to speak to him, "Shikamaru Nara in the Second's, mine in the Third's, and…"

And before Naruto could even say it the realization hit me like a ton of bricks, I could feel both my breath and heart stop at the exact same time.

"…Hinata Hyuga in the Fourth's."

XXXXXXXX

**To Be Continued…**


	22. Master Mizuki

_**How it Feels to Hatch**_

_**Chapter 21:**_

_**Master Mizuki**_

**XXXXXXXXX**

The morning was a very quiet one, though not the kind of silence I grew up with and enjoyed. This particular silence was weighted and smothering. It was the kind of silence that had you at the edge of your seat, waiting for someone to snap.

It was the kind of silence that always accompanied Shinji and Azami whenever they had returned home from one of their missions.

They had changed much in the years since I had met them. Neither sported eye gear nor a collar to conceal their faces, in fact Azami normally walked around with a v neck that was near past her chest. Shinji at least kept a well concealed chest but his usual attire consisted of short sleeves and shorts, he was even starting to sport a tan!

And while the two Aburame that looked anything but Aburame sat on one end of the table, my father, Itachi, and myself sat on the other. And while my father and I have not changed much in the way of clothing Itachi had steadily become, what Naruto often describes as, the "mascot" of my clan.

With earth colored, button up coat, green gloves, Konoha headband around his forehead, dark round glasses, and a hood that covered the part of the face that the collar didn't, no one would ever assume that he was ever once known as Uchiha Itachi, the great genius of the once dominant clan in Konoha. I could guess that was what he was going for.

"So," my father spoke up, breaking me from my thoughts, I looked up from my untouched food to see him looking through his glasses at Shinji and Azami, studying them carefully, "How did the mission go?"

My cousin and step-sister shared a look, a very quick one, but a look nonetheless.

"We found no traces from the village," Shinji said, his voice coming out slow and even, his eyes stared straight back at my father, "We now believe we were given false information to try and divert our attention…"

"And the informant?"

"When ANBU shinobi reached his home they found it completely destroyed, its inhabitants long gone," Azami spoke this time, when Shibi turned to her she looked him straight in the eyes, just as Shinji had. "I read his emotions when he gave us the information, he believed what he was saying but he was also in fear, I foolishly assumed it was just the shock of us appearing at his home with no warning, but it seems the Uchihas had gotten to him first."

My father sat back in his chair, Itachi's head rose slightly from the food he had been casually eating earlier. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"How do you know it was the Uchiha?" Shibi spoke after a moment. This time Shinji and Azami didn't share a glance, though Azami's eyes closed, she looked as if she was going to refuse to answer.

"They had their insignia marked against one of the walls…" Shinji spoke, his face was hardened with disgust, that same face I saw every time he and Azami came home from one of their "missions", "It was marked in blood."

My father sat there for a second more, I could not read his face but I knew from past experiences what was going to happen. He would stand up, bow his head to the two that did his dirty work, turn around without a word, and walk into his room, sliding the door behind him.

This morning was no different.

XXXXXXX

"Well, today's the big day," Shikamaru whispered into my ear, "Think Naruto is nervous enough?"

I glanced over to see my blonde headed friend leaning over his desk, head resting on his arms, his eyes as big as saucers.

"You alright?" I asked, laying a hand on his shoulder. Naruto seemed to jump at the touch and looked over at me, at first he said nothing but soon a huge smile spread across his face.

"Of course!" he exclaimed, his head rising back up immediately, "I'm just anxious to blow our senseis away with my awesome moves!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "You do know we are supposed to make a clone for the finals…right?"

I felt my own stomach tighten when I saw Naruto's smile vanish and his eyes widen.

"What!?" he exclaimed, causing some kids to turn angrily towards him, "We have to make a clone!? I'm terrible with those!"

"Well maybe if you'd of let Shino and I help you now and then you'd be a little more prepared," Shikamaru chided, resting his head on his hand, giving Naruto a disappointed look.

Naruto ran a desperate hand through his yellow hair before turning his bright blue eyes in my direction. His extreme worry and sadness that reflected in those orbs made me uncomfortable.

"Shino, what do I do?" He asked pleadingly. I could only stare back at him, feeling my stomach twist more painfully.

"Uhh."

"Alright everyone calm down!" Iruka suddenly shouted above everyone's chatter, the class quieted immediately, "Mizuki and I are ready now so we shall begin the final exam, we're going in alphabetical order here so…Aburame Shino, please step into the back room."

I gave my friend one hopeless look before I stood up, doing my best to ignore his pleading eyes, and stepped down towards the door. As I walked I could feel the eyes of my fellow classmates on my back, could still feel their hate after all these years. Being the one to embarrass Sasuke back then was bad enough, but after Hinata and the Hyuga clan vanished my classmates found new ways to call me out, I quickly become known as the Friend Killer. That one hurt for awhile.

I stepped into the room after Iruka and found it to be a fairly large space, the only object in it was a long desk that Mizuki and now Iruka sat behind, waiting expectedly.

"You may begin when ready, Shino." Iruka instructed. I simply nodded and began the hand signs for my clone.

XXXXXXXX

I sat in our old spot against the tree and waited. My classmates were slowly pooling out of the door and into the arms of their mothers and fathers, big grins on their faces and new headbands around their foreheads. I played with mine idly.

I passed the exam with flying colors, I didn't even need to use my beetles to create the clone, and I knew Iruka and Mizuki were very impressed. Still, as I looked around at all the passing students, I couldn't feel the least bit proud of myself.

Shikamaru walked out of the door this time and he was instantly picked up in a massive hug by his mother, much to his obvious displeasure. I couldn't help but smirk beneath my collar. His father patted him on the shoulder and they shared a few words before my lazy friend caught sight of me.

"Lamest exam ever, don't you agree?" Shikamaru said with a stifled yawn as he walked over, I merely shrugged.

"How'd you do?" I asked, my friend smirked and pointed to the headband wrapped around his arm.

"Three clones, no sweat." He said, "I'm only bothered by the fact I had to get up so early for this."

Amazingly Shikamaru seemed to notice that my gaze had drifted to the door he had just entered from; the Nara seemed to be able to read my focus just by examining my face now.

"You think he's doing alright?" He asked me, both us knowing who 'he' is. I shook my head.

"I have no clue."

Shikamaru looked at me with a blank face for a few seconds before looking around us, his vague expression slowly becoming a confused one.

"Say, where's your dad? Shouldn't he be here to see you graduate?"

The words shot a prick into my gut but I forced myself to ignore it, his absence bothered me greatly at first but I pushed those emotions aside. There was a perfectly good reason that he was missing his son's one and only graduation…I was sure of it.

"I don't know," I said after a moment's pause, "Maybe the Hokage sent him on a special mission…"

_Or he went on one of his __**own**__ 'missions'._

"I thought the Hokage suspended all missions during graduation day?" Shikamaru asked out loud, I couldn't think of anything to say back to him.

XXXXXXXXX

The sun was now low in the sky, bathing all of us in its orange light. Only a few classmates and their parents remained now, Shikamaru had long gone to celebrate with his family. I knew Naruto would soon come out of those doors and I continued to wait, feeling the knot grow tighter and tighter in my belly.

I could hear my friends buzz erratically; their uncomfortable noises matched the way I felt perfectly. I felt them moving right underneath my skin; they were very agitated, something about the concerned emotions I was feeling was currently making my body a very bad place to live.

I wordlessly gave my friends the order to leave and they exploded from my body, releasing noises of exasperation, I had no idea I was making them so uncomfortable…I needed to control myself.

"Troubled?" A soft voice asked, making me jump in surprise. I turned, and through the clouds of my irritated beetles I saw a familiar, heavily covered face.

"Hello, Itachi," I said with a nod before turning my attention back to the door, suddenly worried that I might miss my friend stepping out of those doors and disappearing, "Everything is fine."

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Itachi surveying my friends; they were still flying around in erratic patterns, their loud calls never ceasing.

"Indeed." Itachi said before sitting down against the tree I stood next to.

"How did you find me?" I asked after a moment's of silence. I heard Itachi make a noise that sounded close to a chuckle.

"When you've lived in this village as long as I have you know it like the back of your eyelids."

When I didn't reply after a minute Itachi chuckled for real.

"…and I may have been toying with my Sharingan a bit."

I couldn't help but let a smile escape beneath my collar. For the past few years my adopted brother had been practicing with his strange new ability, his blind Sharingan. How his progress has been, I honestly had no clue; he always requested a private room with no disturbances whenever he decided to "train".

"I am to assume that you passed, correct?" Itachi asked me. I bit my lip, trying to hold back the question I wanted to ask desperately, but feared the answer of more.

"Yes…did my father send you?"

Itachi remained silent, deathly silent. I knew what he could hear beneath the words in my question.

"He did." The adopted Aburame finally spoke, "He said he was very busy today…he also sends his apologies."

An empty silence followed those words. I didn't know what to say, what to think. My father was too busy to see me graduate? After all those past years getting me back on track and helping me train for this day. He was too busy for me…?

Silently Itachi rose from the ground and somehow managed to find me and gently place a hand on my shoulder.

"Please do not cry, Shino."

I felt myself flinch at his words. How did he…?

"I'm fine," I replied, shrugging off his shoulder and whipped my eyes with my sleeve, it was just one tear… My bugs had fallen silent now, they simply hovered lazily in the air, barely moving, barely breathing.

"Shino…" Itachi began but he was suddenly cut off by the noise of my insects collecting and returning into my body, the noise of the swarm easily drowned out his words.

"I do not wish to speak of it." I said, suddenly feeling very drained and very tired. I tucked my hands into my pockets and began to walk away from Itachi, from the tree, and from the Academy. "I will see you at home, Itachi."

XXXXXXXX

Itachi watched his brother walk away in the darkness of his mind. He could feel the boy's soft, heavy footsteps as it marched through the dirt, getting fainter and fainter. With a sigh Itachi turned away from the sound and the feeling.

"I'm sorry, Shino." Itachi muttered before stepping further into his darkness, away from his home.

XXXXXXXX

The blonde headed boy wiped his stinging eyes as he stepped out of the doors. He had failed, miserably, and he couldn't bring himself to step outside of those doors and face the disappointment and pity of his friends. After all that time training, trying to get better and he couldn't even make one stupid clone. He felt a few more tears trickle out of his eyes and cursed out loud as he tried to rub them away. He was disgusted with himself.

The boy looked up once he was outside and sure enough the area was deserted, no bad mouthed classmates, no asshole teachers…no Shikamaru…no Shino….

The boy felt his throat tighten and a familiar pain ring in his gut, he clenched it tightly. Ever since a few years ago his stomach had been bothering him, been causing him great pain whenever he got too angry or too upset. The boy had long ago shrugged it off as the pain usually vanished whenever he had calmed down.

Without a word the blonde walked across the playground and into the road, heading down to his home. His thoughts dark and tormented. Everyone else graduated, he knew they had, he was the last one to take the exam and everyone who exited the examination room had that same stupid smile on their face, that same stupid sparkle in their eyes. They would get congratulations from their friends and go outside into the waiting arms of their warm and happy family.

The boy clenched his stomach tighter. It wasn't fair! Why was he the only one who suffered? Why was everyone who was mean to him so happy? Why did they get to graduate and have dinner with their family and grow up to be ninja while he got hit, yelled at, and would grow up to be nothing?

"It _**isn't **_fair." Naruto hissed underneath his breath, he felt his stomach twist even more painfully; it hurt more than it did in the years since he first had the feeling.

If I were stronger I would show all of them, I would make them pay for hurting me, for shunning me, I would make _**everyone**_ pay.

"Naruto."

The sudden voice behind him nearly made the boy jump in his skin; he turned his head so fast he could hear his neck pop.

"Master Mizuki…!"

XXXXXXX

**To Be Continued….**

**Seem familiar? Mwhahaha sorry for the cliffhanger everyone but I just couldn't help myself! Had to cut this one a little short so I could get it out to yall faster, hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for further installments! And if you haven't checked out my **_**Roots of Darkness **_**fanfic go to my profile and give it a look. Thanks to all who have read and reviewed thus far, your praise and criticism will always be fuel for my creative fire! **


	23. Graduate

**Not much to say except for my never ending apologies for lateness for this chapter, with school and hobbies and two other fanfiction stories I am actually keeping myself quite busy. Well on that note I hope everyone is still enjoying this story! Now, on to the next chapter!**

**How it Feels to Hatch**

**Chapter 23 – Graduate**

XXXXX

I didn't want to go home. Even as the sun began to sink into the sky, the normal sign that I should be in bed by now, I could not summon the will to return. Itachi's words still rang sharply in my head as I walked along the edge of the forest.

"_He said he was very busy today…he also sends his apologies."_

His apologies? What did I care for them? He should not be too busy to see his own son graduate, not after all the time preparing, not after all they had been through, not after losing mother…mother…

My anger seemed to drain away as my thoughts began to drift, it had been so long since I had last seen her, I couldn't even remember what I last said to her, or what she was doing. What was happening to her now? What were the Uchiha's doing to her? Was she even alive? I let out a deep and tiring sigh.

There was no point in thinking about this, I told myself over and over. There was nothing I could do; I was only a kid who just graduated from Ninja Academy, if I kept letting my thoughts and feelings get control over me I would end up just like my father; a hallow, withering shell, focused on nothing except hunting those responsible for taking his wife, forgetting that there were those still around him that cared for him…that needed him.

I gritted my teeth as I felt my friends get uncomfortable, their bodies pressing against the backside of my skin. This was a bad day, what was supposed to be a time of celebration was turning into a constant struggle to keep my emotions in check; I thought I would be past all this by now, past all of the anger and regret and misery of losing my mother, ready to go on and become a true shinobi.

Why was it so hard? Did Naruto suffer like this still? Was he still masking his pain and sadness with that happy-go-lucky face? If he was then maybe I should ask him for some lessons…

"Shino! Shino! Is that you?" a panicked voice suddenly called out from behind me. I turned, instantly forgetting my current troubles due to the immense surprise to see a sweating and nearly out of breath Iruka racing towards me.

"Master Iruka?" I asked when he caught up; panting like an overheated dog "Is something-."

"What in the world are you doing out here so late, Shino?" Iruka demanded, cutting into my question as if he didn't hear it. Confused, I looked over at the sky to see that the orange sun had nearly vanished, stars already beginning to twinkle overhead.

"I…" I was at a loss for words; I didn't exactly want to tell my teacher I spent half the day…brooding.

"Forget it," Iruka said, holding out a silencing hand, it seemed he was in a great hurry as he was already looking over his shoulder, "You haven't seen Naruto lately have you?"

"Not since the exam…" I said slowly, examining Iruka's anxious expression, growing anxious myself when it looked crestfallen at my answer, "Sir…what has happened?"

Though Iruka merely shook his head and, standing back up to his full height, began to rub the scar that cut across the bridge of his nose in extreme frustration. I stared at him, silent, yet with a growing feeling of fear and worry from the pit of my stomach.

"It seems…Naruto has stolen a sacred and forbidden scroll from the Hokage's office," Iruka said slowly, staring intently into the forest beside us, I felt my skin grow cold.

_Naruto? Stole from the Hokage?_

But before I could ask any questions Iruka began to walk hastily down the edge of the forest, I walked silently behind him.

"I do not know how, or why, as the Hokage has insisted that the details remain a secret, but I do know that he has sent many chunins and jonins, some with the personal intention of killing Naruto if it comes down to it."

While I managed to keep my appearance from giving anything away, my insides felt as if they were fixing to explode. _Kill him?_ Was the Hokage allowing this? Did he even know? What if it was just a misunderstanding, what if Naruto dies over _nothing?_

"I do not want Naruto to die," Iruka spoke evenly, coming to a halt, I stopped as well, "As I'm sure neither do you, that is why I am going to ask for your help, if you don't mind of course?"

Iruka turned to face me and I quickly nodded, Iruka nodding once in return. His eyes remained closed for a few moments before he opened them once more, training them directly at me.

"I'm going to need you to send out some of your beetles and try and track down his chakra, can you do that? I know your father has trained you in that field before and it should be easy for your beetles to track Naruto, being as you two are so close."

Ignoring the slight twang in my chest at the mention of my father I nodded once more to show Iruka that I understood.

"The Hokage believes that he fled somewhere into the forest," Iruka continued, turning to face said forest, I turned to face it as well; "I don't think he could have gotten far, so, whenever you're ready."

I raised my arms as soon as he had finished explaining. Closing my eyes I focused intently on my friends, blocking out all other thoughts, worries, fears, and seeing only the small, scuttling creatures that lived in my body. When all I felt was them I gave them the image of Uzumaki Naruto, bright blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and face splitting smile. My friends recognized him instantly, honing in on the feeling of his chakra. It was then that I knew I could give out the order.

_Find him._

With an explosion of noise a great swarm of my insects erupted from the sleeves of my jacket and plunged themselves into the darkening woods. Iruka and I exchanged a single look.

"Lead the way," He said with a soft smile, with a simple nod I jumped into the air and raced into the forest after my friends, Iruka close behind.

XXXXXX

Each second seemed to tick away like a minute as Master Iruka and I followed my searching beetles. However close my ties with them are I still could not sense if they were even heading in the direction of Naruto, or if they were searching just as blindly as the other shinobi were.

"I have a feeling as to why Naruto stole the scroll," Iruka spoke out loud after a few minutes of quiet searching as they both leapt through the tree's limbs, I looked over at Iruka, my former teacher seemed to be gazing at something not within the forest, "You see, he failed his exam today."

I felt another cold, sinking feeling take control of my insides. Naruto had failed…and I had not been there when he left. He was probably sad, frustrated, and alone… If I had been there all of this might not have happened, Naruto wouldn't have stolen the scroll and there wouldn't be shinobi out there trying to hunt him down and…kill him.

While these thoughts tormented my mind I spoke nothing in reply to Iruka's comment. The shinobi instructor looked over at me for a moment before focusing his attention back to the swarm that we were tailing.

"I'm not sure if I would go so far as to say Naruto wants to use the scroll to attack the village," Iruka continued, his eyes still trained on the swarm, "But I'm not blind either, as you yourself have probably noticed Shino, Naruto is struggling with a lot of pain and sadness that most twelve year olds, even those with ninja parents, don't normally have to face."

I looked over at Iruka, both surprised and curious. Did he really know this much about Naruto?

"He's the class clown, the one who pulls jokes and acts stupid for attention, but there is a deeper reason as to why Naruto acts this way, he is lonely, and even after meeting you and Shikamaru I can still see a deep, hidden, pain, the kind that only comes with those who have lost their parents…"

I continued to stare at Iruka without speaking; I had no clue what to say. I knew about Naruto's lack of parents, I knew he still held a great pain for never knowing who they were, but I could never relate, even after losing my mother I knew Naruto and I were still separated by that invisible line of pain, one I hoped I would never cross. But Master Iruka…he spoke as though he completely understood and…felt the pain.

"Your beetles have found something." Iruka whispered now, his eyes squinting intently. I immediately focused to where he was looking and sure enough my swarm was quickly lowering towards an open area just beyond the crowded trees, "Let me handle this Shino, if there is to be a fight, I do not want you a part of it."

I looked over at Iruka, confused. Surely he did not intend to fight Naruto? But the serious, slightly worried, look on his face foreshadowed something far different then what I was thinking.

"Stay alert." Iruka whispered one final warning before we reached the clearing.

Leaping from the last tree Iruka and I landed at the edge of the clearing where I saw a small shack and an even smaller, blonde-haired boy with a giant scroll tied around his back. He was busy watching the swarm of my beetles hover like a giant halo around him, there was a pretty big smile on his face.

"There you are!" Iruka called, a knowing 'gotcha' smirk on his face. Naruto jumped at the sound of his voice and turned to face us, a bigger smile spread across his face.

"About time, nose-bleed! I found you!" Naruto called, laughing as he pointed at Iruka. I looked over questioningly at the instructor's nickname, who, in turn, turned a slight shade of pink before a wave of irritation overcame his face.

"No, you fool! **I **found _**you!**_" Iruka corrected, storming up to Naruto, I quickly followed behind.

"Hey there, Shino!" Naruto said to me happily, looking past the still fuming Iruka.

"Hello," I greeted casually, while I felt a wave of relief wash over me at the sight of the not dead Naruto, although he did look a little worse for wear…

"Heh, I guess you guys _did_ get me, too bad yall were so fast, I only had time to memorize one technique!"

A technique? I examined Naruto more closely; he did show all the signs of training, battered clothes, messed up hair, dirt coating his body, but it had only been about six hours since he left the Academy, did he already learn something that quickly?

"You look exhausted," Iruka commented, apparently noticing the worn state Naruto was in as well, "What exactly have you been doing?"

"Wait'll I show you!" Naruto exclaimed, his face brightening instantly, "I never dreamed…some of the shinobi arts are so amazing!"

I watched Naruto as he stumbled over his words. I had never seen him so excited over ninja stuff, determined, yes, but not ecstatic or happy…

"If I show I've mastered these techniques, you'll have to let me graduate!" Naruto continued, his smile growing wider. Iruka merely looked at Naruto with a mixture of confusion and amazement.

My blonde-headed friend then turned a bit away from us and hunched over a bit. He then extended his pointer and middle finger of his right hand, then gripped this hand with his left hand, it was a stance I had yet to see before. Though Iruka seemed more interested in the giant scroll that was now staring us in the face due to Naruto's stance.

"Naruto…" Iruka began; my friend looked over, giving him a questioning look, "What's up with that scroll you're carrying?"

"What this?" Naruto asked straightening up again and looked over his shoulder at the scroll, "Master Mizuki told me about it, and about this place!"

I knew then something dawned upon both me and Iruka at the same time. _Master Mizuki told Naruto about the scroll?_

"He said if I could show you that I'd learned the techniques in this scroll…" Naruto continued, eyes closed due to his massive smile, unaware of our state of shock, "…you'd let me become a shinobi!"

In the split silence that followed I heard a faint clink of metal behind us. Then, before I could react, I saw Iruka make a swift move, knocking Naruto into the air, and before I could react I felt a great force knock me off my own feet. The great buzzing of my beetles carried me swiftly through the air and I caught a brief glimpse of Iruka suddenly bombarded by multiple kunai, sending his body into the side of the small shack.

"Iruka!" I called out as my beetles lowered me down. Though as soon as I stood two flashes of metal whizzed past me and before I could register what I just saw, I felt the force of a tight, invisible string pull by body until my back connected roughly with a tree. From there the two kunai twirled their string around me and the tree, pinning me to it.

"I'm impressed that you figured out where to go," I heard Iruka gasp, his back still against the shed, he then gripped one of the kunai stuck in his side and pulled it out, earning a sharp cry of pain, "Now I understand!"

I pulled against the string, but to no avail.

"The scroll, Naruto." Spoke Master Mizuki, Konoha head band tied around his head like a bandana, two giant kunai tied around his back, he looked down at the fallen blonde-headed boy, ignoring Iruka, "Give it to me."

"Dude! I mean, come on!" Naruto exclaimed, looking from Mizuki to Iruka to me, his face terrified, "Hey! What is this!?"

"Don't let him have it Naruto!" Iruka ordered, he gripped another lodged kunai, his eyes still trained hatefully at Mizuki, "Protect that scroll with your life!"

Taking in slow deep breaths I tried to block out my thoughts once again, to ignore the deep confusion of Mizuki's betrayal, ignore the fear that Iruka and Naruto were on the brink of losing their lives. I tried to keep my focus on my beetles, though Iruka's voice kept shouting into the night.

"It's more dangerous than you can imagine- it holds the record of a completely forbidden ninja art!" Iruka let out another short outburst of pain as he tore away another kunai, "Mizuki used you because he wants if for himself!"

Don't look at Naruto, I told myself, trying to focus on giving my beetles an order. Ignore Iruka; don't listen to his pain and warnings, the sooner you get out of this the sooner you can help… But still the question remained. What could I do?

"Naruto, even if you've read it, it will still be meaningless!" Mizuki proclaimed, his voice self-assured and cold, much unlike the shinobi instructor I had come to known, "I can show you what it means!"

"Sh-shut, up you fool!" Iruka shouted, and it was a shout I found I could not ignore, for it was filled with panic and fear.

"You…know what _really _happened in the incident where the fox demon was sealed up again twelve years ago, don't you…?"

The fox demon? I asked myself as the small clearing grew quiet after Mizuki's question, Iruka still looked as though he was struggling to take out the remaining kunai. The last time I had heard of it was when Naruto and I were both younger…that was the name a particularly nasty villager had given Naruto…Naruto said that people called him that all the time and he did not know why…

"Since that incident…" Mizuki continued as he stared at Naruto, and even from here I could see a smile, equally cold as his voice, spread slowly across his face, "The people of our village have been bound by the strictest decree."

"I don't remember any decree…" I heard Naruto's voice as the wind carried it through the night air, I remember…long ago…my father mentioning something about Naruto, something that he couldn't speak to my mother in front of me or Naruto…

"You wouldn't." Mizuki said to Naruto's comment, his smile growing ever bigger, "Part of that decree was that everyone would know about it…except you!"

"…except me…?!" Naruto exclaimed, the look of pure confusion and worry consumed his once bright and happy features, "…why not me? What law are you talking about?"

Mizuki then laughed a dark, harsh laugh that drove itself deep within me. I remembered something now; my father had planned on telling me something about Naruto when I got older…something he told me to never share with Naruto…then they took my mother…and now my father had no time for me…no time for telling me secrets…

"What…" Naruto begged, his eyes as wide as saucers, "What was the decree!? What!?"

"That no one must ever tell you…that what you really are…is the demon fox!"

The final words echoed in the dark forest, Naruto could only look up at Mizuki in a state of awe. I tried to make sense of what he was saying…Naruto _is_ the demon fox? What did that mean? It wasn't just some cruel nickname?

"Wha… What are you talking about!!" Naruto exclaimed, scooting a bit away on his butt, his body now shaking like a leaf, I had a scary feeling my friend understood those words more than I did.

"_**Stop!!"**_ Iruka cried out at the top of his lungs, begging Mizuki not to finish.

"In other words you…" Mizuki spoke as Naruto stood on shaky feet, "…are the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit that destroyed the village!"

A wave of shock hit me like a pile of bricks. He can't be saying…there was no way…

"Until, at last, our beloved hero, the Fourth Lord Hokage, trapped and bound you in this form!"

"_**Stop it!!!"**_ Iruka roared, but Mizuki did not stop, not even as Naruto stood there, head bowed and shoulders shaking, Mizuki did not stop.

"Since then you have been made a fool of by everyone in town!" Mizuki shouted at the top of his lungs, his smile showing he was enjoying every minute of it, I soon felt something burst inside my gut, "Didn't you think it was strange? To be so despised, everywhere you went?"

I could see it now, tears were freely flowing from Naruto's face, his whole body seemed to shake under his sadness. I felt my insides boil, this was not the malicious Nine-Tailed Fox I was looking at; this was my friend, my _dearest_ friend, scared and alone, living without a parent's love, doing anything for attention, even if it meant being the butt of everyone's jokes…

"No one could bear an abomination like you!" Mizuki called, he had one of his massive shuriken spinning like a top in his hand…he meant to strike down Naruto as he sobbed…

I felt a rage like I never felt before begin to consume me. My entire body felt hot, my friends were crawling all over my skin without being ordered to, apparently they couldn't stand being inside my body any longer. From behind my sunglasses I glared at Mizuki, I would not let him hurt my friend any longer. Fox Demon or not, if he wanted to kill Naruto, he would have to go through me.

"_**Attack!"**_ I roared in a voice not my own, and without seconds notice my entire swarm burst from my body, I felt instant pain as their rapid departure tore against by body as well as tore through the string that bonded me, but I did not care, my full attention was on Mizuki.

"Wha-?!" Mizuki exclaimed, turning to face my entire swarm, he didn't even had time to scream before my friends consumed him, the force of their attack sending him off of the branch and into the dark forest.

However, my friends were not fast enough, the giant shuriken had been thrown, I watched helplessly as it sailed towards my friend and couldn't help but close my eyes. I flinched when I heard the sickening _thunk_ of metal on flesh. Yet when I opened my eyes I was greeted with a shocking, yet grisly scene.

Iruka was kneeled over the fallen Naruto, the giant shuriken lodged into the shinobi instructor's back. Naruto looked up in shock for a second before his face contorted in grief when a drop of blood landed on his face.

"I…" Iruka moaned, his arms shaking dangerously, I tried to walk over towards them but my legs suddenly gave out from under me, the combination of my entire swarm gone from my body and the cuts they left behind had just about drained me.

"…I…was so lonely…" I heard Iruka mutter, his voice seemed far away, as though he was talking to himself, but it shook as though he was… "With my parents gone…there was no one to praise or respect me. I became the class clown… anything to attract attention. I just wanted someone to notice how good I was…to be proud of me."

His voice cracked clearly then and I knew he was crying…

"Trouble was, I didn't even know who I really was…And how can anyone respect a kid who isn't really there? No **me**. Just a lot of need, and a lot of stupid tricks…It…hurt so much."

I ignored my pain and forced my head to turn towards the two, master and student. Iruka still leaned over Naruto, his tears fell like rain on the orange clad boy, and Naruto only looked up at Iruka in shock.

"I know that, Naruto. I was so hard on you, yelling, scolding…it must have hurt…" Iruka said, his words becoming hard to make out through his tears, "Forgive me. If I'd of been a better teacher…A better self…Maybe neither of us would have come to this."

Naruto continued to look up at Iruka, but then, something caught his eyes. In a quick motion Naruto crawled from beneath Iruka, stood up, and raced away.

"Naruto!" Iruka called desperately after him, but he had already disappeared from view.

"Master Iruka," I groaned, trying to stand up, but only managing to get on my knees before a wave of nausea swept through my body, threatening to send me back to the earth.

With a great groan of pain Iruka reached over and pulled the massive shuriken from his back, the deep wound oozing blood. Getting up on shaky feet Iruka walked over and lifted me up carefully, supporting me with one of his arms.

"You're bleeding," Iruka said worriedly, his hand feeling the wounds hidden beneath my clothes.

"I'm fine," I groaned, staring intently down the path Naruto had disappeared, "We need to catch up to Naruto."

"Heh, Heh, Heh what a pity," a cold and familiar voice spoke from behind us; I instantly felt another wave of anger begin to overcome me. Iruka turned us so that we were facing Mizuki, looking rather calm and unshaken as though he was not just attacked by a full swarm of Aburame beetles, "You Aburame's are just getting easier and easier to tip over the edge, did you think I was not prepared for an attack like that? Fool! Now your entire swarm can have their fun being stuck to a clone made of sap!"

"Dammit Mizuki, why are you doing this!?" Iruka demanded "Konoha is supposed to be your village! Your home! Why are you trying to tear it apart!?"

"I don't need to explain myself to you, Iruka!" Mizuki spat, giving his fellow Konoha instructor his coldest sneer, "I have a new master now, one that will greatly appreciate the scroll and the destruction of Konoha…as well as its Aburame inhabitants…"

My skin grew cold at those words. Was he talking about the Uchiha's?

"I will not let you hurt Naruto or Konoha," Iruka spoke in a deadly whisper, drawing out a kunai from a side pouch. Mizuki's sneer only lengthened.

"I do not fear you any longer, Iruka," Mizuki spoke in a deadly serious tone, he then leapt into the air, sailing over our heads and into the trees, "I'll finish you both after I am done with the Demon Fox!"

"Dammit!" Iruka swore again, staring after Mizuki, he then knelt me down gently against a nearby tree, "You stay here Shino, I'll be back once I get Naruto."

"But sensei," I spoke softly, trying to force down the anger still churning inside me, "I want to help."

"I'm sorry, Shino," Iruka said simply before turning and leaping into the forest after Mizuki. I didn't miss the pain in his face as he jumped, it wouldn't be long before those wounds would become too much to handle.

With great effort I rose myself to my feet, using the trunk of the tree to support my back so I would not fall. Then, taking out my own kunai, I cut down a low, thick branch and, using it as a third leg, I slowly moved away from the tree to test it. Minimal strength was returning to my legs, enough so that the branch was enough to keep me from collapsing again. I looked over to where my beetles last disappeared, I knew, by now, that they were dead. They had reached their adult stages a few weeks ago and now they were to repeat an endless cycle of dying and birthing into their adult stages until I myself died. My father had once warned me not to get too attached to the initial breed I was born with. As I looked into the dark patch of forest a deep wound placed itself into my heart, knowing I would never see that swarm again, my lifelong 'friends' were gone.

With a soft groan of pain I looked away from the patch of forest and began to slowly limp my way in the direction of the path one of my few remaining friends escaped down. Hoping with each painful step that he to wasn't forever lost to me in the forest.

XXXXXX

I let out an unintentional cry of pain as my body sunk against a tree, a misstep on the uneven path caused my body to twist awkwardly, reopening some of the gashes on my midsection. I took in deep, uneven breaths as I leaned against the wide oak, I was sweating profusely and my legs felt like they were about to give out.

I had been walking for what seemed like forever, with no signs of Naruto, Iruka, or Mizuki. I was beginning to wish I had just listened to Master Iruka and stayed put, even if Mizuki succeeded at least it would be easier for ANBU or someone else to find me and get information in that clearing. If I fell here, in the middle of the woods, the best use I'd be put to would be food for the birds.

I let out a groan of frustration at that thought. This wouldn't be the first time I had let my worries over Naruto cloud my better judgment. I could have helped him a lot more if I had just stayed put…

It was just then, as I started to catch my breath and began to stand up straighter, that a solid object cut through the night air and pierced itself through one of my jacket sleeves and into the trunk of the tree, pinning me. Next thing I knew a sudden body, warm and heavy breathing, pinned the rest of my free body against the tree. I cried out and dropped my stick as I felt my wounds begin to bleed profusely.

"Identify yourself!" a woman's voice commanded, one hand on the object, it looked like a crudely made arrow, that pinned my jacket while the other one held and equally as crudely made, sharp rock against my neck, "Are you a Konoha shinobi!?"

"Uh…" I began, I couldn't get a good view of her, the night had gotten much darker, and even at this extremely close range all I could see was a mess of long, dark hair, "Y-yes," I quickly answered when I felt the sharp point of the rock dig further into my neck.

"What are you doing in these parts of the woods?" the woman continued, her grip not letting up an inch, "Did the Hokage send you on a specific mission here?"

"No," I answered, calmly, coolly, quickly trying to regain my Aburame sense, if only I had the beetles to go with it, "I am here on…private business."

"You will keep nothing private from me!" the woman threatened vehemently, I could feel her breath wash over me, hot and vicious, "What is your purpose here!?"

"I…" I figured there was no sense lying to this strange woman, "I am trying to rescue my friend, he is being…hunted."

"Hunted?" she asked, her voice filled with suspicion, "Hunted by whom?"

"Mizuki," I replied, though I figured names didn't really matter in this conversation, "He was a Konoha shinobi, recently gone rouge."

"Hmmm," I felt the strong grip on me suddenly vanish and found myself back on solid ground; it took a lot of control to keep from falling, though I still had the arrow in my sleeve, "Konoha is still filled with suspicion then."

I reached over and pulled the arrow from my sleeve.

"This is yours, I believe," I spoke, handing it over to the dark outline of the woman; she was nearly a head shorter than me.

"My thanks," she returned, swiftly grabbing it, she then knelt down and stood back up, handing something to me as well, it was my walking stick, "And this, I believe, is yours?"

"Uh…thank you," I mumbled grabbing the stick from her hand. We then stood there in a few seconds of heavily awkward silence.

"Well er…" I began, taking a silent step back, "I should be go-."

"You remind me of someone," the woman spoke, cutting into what I was saying as if I never spoke, "Someone from a long time ago…"

I simply stood there, perplexed. I had certainly never met any arrow shooting, interrogating, tree woman in my life.

"Tell me, Konoha shinobi; from what clan do you come from?"

"My clan...?"

But before I could give a proper answer, a scream of pain erupted from somewhere nearby, the cry echoing throughout the forest. I quickly remembered what I had to be doing.

"Sorry, but I need to go," I said, turning away from the shadowed woman and began to make my way down the path, but I had barely taken a few steps before my legs gave away again and I found myself on my knees, panting for breath.

With a groan of pain and frustration I dropped the stick and tried to push myself up. Before I could attempt, however, a firm, yet warm, hand placed itself on my shoulder. I flinched at the sudden contact.

"Please, let me help you," the woman spoke, only now her voice was soft and…slightly nervous, something that strung a deep, unknown familiarity, "You are too weak to go on your own."

"…fine." I said, seeing no other option at this point, I allowed the girl to raise me, but instead of simply supporting me she placed herself in front of me, placing my hands on her shoulders, as if expecting me to jump on her back.

"Er…are you sure?" I asked, quickly earning a light hearted giggle from the woman, my heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"Quite sure," she said, now taking my legs and wrapping them up in her arms, "I am stronger than I look."

I quickly saw what she meant as we flew through the trees in the direction of the pained outburst and it wasn't long before we reached another, smaller clearing. Lit up by the moonlight, I could easily see two figures conversing; one was sitting up against a tree and the other standing over him. When the woman landed just outside the clearing I could easily make out Iruka as the one against the tree, the other, to my immense displeasure, was Mizuki.

"The demon within him hungers for that kind of strength!" Mizuki was saying, and though I couldn't see his face I could only imagine it still harbored that cold, smug, sneer, "You were right to fear him…Despise him…"

As the girl and I watched a strange smile spread across Iruka's face. As though he just thought of something rather pleasant just then.

"Maybe I do hate the fox…" Iruka spoke slowly, his eyes gazing past Mizuki, "But not Naruto. Not the boy."

I heard the girl suddenly gasp softly into the dark, but I didn't have time to pay her any mind. Mizuki was watching Iruka intently, his fingers twitched towards his last remaining massive shuriken. I was not going to let him connect with a second one.

"For him I have nothing but respect," Iruka continued, still gazing, not noticing Mizuki fingering his weapon, "He's an **excellent student**. He works with all his might. But sometimes, even so, he's awkward, clumsy…a screw-up…people have mocked him and shunned him…and it's given him empathy. He knows what it is to be in pain."

"Oh…Naruto." The girl beside me breathed, I gave her an unseen glance, a slow realization forming inside me.

"That boy is no longer your demon fox!" Iruka proclaimed, now giving Mizuki his full, furious attention, "He is… a citizen of Konohagakure village…Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Hah, spoken like a true Konoha weakling!" Mizuki shot; he then reached behind and unhooked the remaining shuriken from his back. I saw the girl at my side instantly reach behind her back and looked, from what I could see in the darkness, like a bow, "I will be sure to recite that to your dear Naruto, right before I decapitate him!"

Then, Mizuki charged, whirling the shuriken like a windmill in a storm. I saw the girl pull back the string on her bow. Yet before either of the two could strike their killing blow, a small, orange, figure leapt from behind a tree and planted a justified knee cap directly into Mizuki's surprised face.

With a cry of surprise and pain Mizuki flew back into the air, his shuriken sailing harmlessly into a nearby tree.

"Keep away from Master Iruka…" the orange clad, blonde-haired boy declared, one hand resting on the scroll that stood beside him, "…or **I'LL KILL YOU!**"

I stared at Naruto in shock, barely realizing the girl beside me had just gasped, dropped her bow, and fainted on the spot.

"Stupid kid…You should have stayed away!!" Iruka called at Naruto, he then groaned as the wound in his back spurted out more blood, "Get out of here! Save yourself!!"

"Loud mouth brat!!" Mizuki shot, his face now sporting a severely broken nose, "**I can kill you with one blow!"**

"Bring it on, you big dick!" Naruto swore throwing up the hand sign I saw him make earlier, and, although I didn't exactly support his choice of words, he spoke them with a deadly undertone, "Anything you throw at me I'll give back a thousand times!"

"YOUR WELCOME TO TRY, LITTLE FOX!" Mizuki challenged, racing towards the small boy.

I tried to move, but I still had no strength. I had to watch Naruto get attacked, get torn to pieces. Right before my very eyes…I had to watch Naruto…become another Naruto…and another Naruto…and another…and another….and another…

In a matter of seconds what had once been one Naruto now seemed to be hundreds, crowding up the small clearing, and many hanging in the trees, some of the Naruto's that now stood around me even noticed I was there.

"Hey, buddy!" one Naruto said, clapping me on the back, it was a solid clap…a solid clone.

"Here to watch me beat up that wanna be shinobi, Mizuki?" another Naruto asked me.

"Uhh…"

"What…!?" Mizuki declared, getting the attention of both me and the hundreds of Naruto's, "How did he…?"

"What's the matter, tough guy? Come and get me!" all of the Naruto's shouted at once, the sound of their combined voices seemed to shake the very trees, "You're going to kill me with one punch, right? Come on!"

I looked over at Iruka to see that he was in complete and utter shock. I couldn't say that my expression was any different.

"So…?" the Naruto's asked, as if waiting for the increasingly panicked Mizuki to reply, when he didn't they all grinned and clenched their fists, "Come and get it!"

And finally the look of smugness, of coolness, completely left the face of the traitor Mizuki, now all there was was horror, fear, and a whole lot of sweat as the hundreds of Naruto's descended on him like a rain of bright orange arrows. A small smile appeared beneath my collar as I settled in to watch, this…was going to be good.

XXXXXX

It was many hours later, the sun was even beginning to rise, before all of the Naruto's had finished brutalizing Mizuki and vanished from view. By that time all that really remained of the Konoha traitor was a broken, bloodied body, he looked better after he was crushed by that rock slide.

"Guess I got carried away," Naruto said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, Iruka merely chuckled softly before looking past Naruto into the woods, looking directly at me.

"I think it's safe to come out now, Shino." Iruka called, waving me over. I gingerly stood up, testing my legs, I felt my new swarm of beetles begin to develop into eggs a few minutes ago and it seemed their chakra was already beginning to give me strength. I took slow steps into the clearing.

"Hey, Shino! I almost forgot about you!" Naruto laughed as he raced towards me and, without warning, embraced me in a fierce hug. I did my best not to cry out in pain as my cuts burned, and managed to gently pat him on the back in return.

"Nice work with Mizuki," I said, glancing momentarily at the motionless body, "How did you form all of those clones?"

"It was the scroll!" Naruto said eagerly, pointing at the said object that was currently lying in the tall grass not too far away, "I was practicing that jutsu nearly all day yesterday, I just nailed it when you and Iruka had shown up!"

"Naruto, come here," Iruka called, we both turned to see him sitting up more now, and, despite the multiple, seemingly mortal, wounds, he appeared just fine, "I have a present for you."

"A present?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious, I simply rolled my eyes behind my glasses.

"Close your eyes," Iruka instructed, when we reached him, Naruto did so immediately, then, after giving me a smile and a wink, he removed his headband and tied it smartly around Naruto's forehead.

We then sat there for a few moments, waiting for Naruto to realize what had just happened. A few more seconds ticked by and Naruto had not budged an inch, Iruka and I shared a confused glance.

"Now sensei…may I…?" Naruto then asked out loud, I had to stifle a grin while Iruka chuckled ever so softly.

"Yes, Naruto, you can open your eyes."

Naruto did, and instantly I saw him take notice of Iruka's now bare forehead. In a casual movement, Iruka reached over and flicked the Konoha head band protecting his forehead.

"Congratulations, graduate." Iruka said, with a big smile on his face.

"Nice going, Naruto." I added when my friend didn't appear to know what to say. Yet he simply stood there, staring, wide-eyed at Iruka.

Iruka scooted back a little when Naruto's feet shifted a little towards him, I had the horrible feeling my friend was about to fiercely hug his injured instructor as well. But, just then, much, I'm sure, to Master Iruka's relief, the sound of movement alerted all three of us to a presence directly behind me.

All of us faced in the direction of the sound, kunai out. But what we saw was not a revitalized Mizuki or a Konoha shinobi after Naruto's life. What we saw was a girl, scantily clad in what looked like dear skin, with a bow and some arrows tied to her back. She had long blue hair that fell past her shoulders that was ruffled and had leaves and sticks poking out of it.

Yet although she had the appearance of a wild, dangerous, forest warrior, she had her pale, iris-less eyes trained on Naruto, her two index fingers poked together in a kind of nervous manner and her face was the shade of a ripened tomato.

"C-c-congradtu-tu-tulations, N-N-Na-Naruto," her voice came out, soft and stutter-filled, but I barely noticed. My mouth flew open, my sunglasses went slightly askew, and somewhere, deep, deep down inside me, my insects began to hatch.

"Thanks, Hinata!" Naruto said with a smile, speaking as though he had just seen Hinata the other day, and not four entire years ago.

I stared without shame, without knowing what else to do. And finally, Hinata's pale eyes turned their attention to me and a soft smile graced her reddened face.

"H-hello, Shino," she spoke.

"That's… uh… oh… I… well…um…" And then, before I knew what hit me, all of the emotions, the confusion, and the weariness became too much and I was out. Officially fainting for the second time in my short life.

XXXXXX

………

While the three, highly confused, figures examined the poor, unconscious Aburame boy, the body of the defeated Mizuki quivered. It shook with a viscosity not belonging to a human's fleshy body. Then, still unnoticed by the worried group, Mizuki's fleshy body slowly turned into a gooey, yellowish material commonly known as tree sap. From there the substance melted under the rising sun, becoming nothing more than a sticky puddle.

The real Mizuki was speeding through the forest, cursing under his breath as he tried to stop the bleeding of his broken nose.

"Master Orochimaru will not be pleased," Mizuki moaned, fearing what future tortures his master had in store for him, though his fear quickly turned to rage when his thoughts drifted to Naruto and Shino, "I swear I will make them pay, no more failures, next time, when I get my chance, I will make them _pay_."

Keeping this oath in his heart and mind Mizuki raced ever quicker to his master's lair, fully prepared for whatever punishment he was sure to endure.

XXXXXX

**To Be Continued…**

XXXXXX


	24. Love Bugs

**How it Feels to Hatch**

**Chapter 24:**

**Love Bugs**

XXXXXXXXX

By the amount of people waiting for us when we returned, one would believe we had just come back from some great ninja war. Though judging by the looks of the four of us, we may as well have done just that. The large crowd of people stood at the edge of the entrance of the great doors that lead into Konoha, when they noticed our slow approach many let out surprised gasps. A small group of ANBU and med-nins quickly approached us.

"What the hell happened out there?" A dog masked ANBU asked Iruka, two med-nins taking Naruto and I's place in holding him up by the shoulders.

"Mizuki…has betrayed Konoha," Iruka said slowly, his voice, although weak, still held much contempt for his formal ally, "He attempted to trick Naruto into stealing the scroll for him, we got it back, but he got away with his life."

The ANBU nodded to his companion who took the scroll strapped around Naruto's back. It was at that time that he noticed our fourth, slightly hiding companion.

"Is that…what I think it is?" the ANBU sputtered, even behind the gorilla mask I could easily imagine the look of intense shock.

"Hello," Hinata greeted with a polite bow, "My name is Hinata Hyuuga, and-."

"It can't be…" the ANBU with the dog mask spoke as he walked slowly towards Hinata, until he was at least a hair's breathe away from her, "The Hyuuga heir…"

Hinata was confused, and her hands twitched towards her bow. Yet before she could act any further the ANBU slowly removed his mask. Revealing to all of us a pair of pale white eyes, exactly equal to Hinata's. Hinata's eyes widened.

"You're…just like me…" She spoke, her hand quivered; only this time it reached for the man's face, and not her bow.

"My lady…" the Hyuuga ANBU spoke, a soft smile gracing his lips, "Your cousin and I…we had feared the worst…"

Hinata's hand halted, "I…I have a cousin...?"

The man looked down at Hinata with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"Shino, Naruto, where in the hell have you guys been!" a sudden voice called, interrupting the sudden and strange moment between the two Hyuuga's. I looked over to see Shinji racing towards us, the rising sun glowing off his browned skin, for a second I forgot he was an Aburame.

"Heya there, Shinji!" Naruto called, waving his hand frantically to the young man, "You sure did miss some serious ass kicking!"

"Naruto, that is a week's worth of scrubbing floors for that mouth," Iruka spoke sternly, though with a creeping smile on his face, "Now before I pass out from blood loss, would it be too much trouble to be taken to a hospital now?"

The med-nins supporting Iruka, finally breaking free from the strange Hyuuga episode and realizing they held a dying man in their arms, quickly raced off in the direction of the village.

"Shibi learned about your disappearance," Shinji continued, looking suddenly very embarrassed, "He told me to send you to him as soon as you…err…returned."

I simply stared at my tanned cousin. As soon as I returned? Meaning, he wasn't worried about me? That he hasn't been searching for me? That he just _presumed_ that I was going to be ok?

And although all of the same, new, fury and confusion whirled in my head, my new beetles did not bother me one bit. I even had to stop and make sure they were still even in my body…the bugs

certainly have expressed discomfort before…

"Alright," I spoke with a nod to my cousin, I then half turned to Naruto, expecting my friend to join me, but before I could the Hyuuga ANBU spoke up.

"My lady, Hinata, if it is not too much trouble I would ask that you join me as I seek an audience with the Hokage…there is much that needs to be discussed.

Hinata looked to her recently discovered relative, to the woods that lay behind her, and back again. I had no idea what had happened to my friend after her entire clan had left the village, had she really just been living in the woods outside the village all of these years? Surely if she and her clan were, my clan would have noticed…but if it was just her, they could have missed it…but if it was just her…then where was the rest of her clan…?

"I will come…" Hinata spoke slowly, than in a quick movement she reached over and grabbed Naruto's arm, hugging it close to her, "But only if Naruto comes as well."

The elder Hyuuga looked shocked, to say the least. Though I could easily say I was ten times more shocked. My chest felt like it was instantly crushed from the inside, it felt hard to breath, and as I watched Hinata hold Naruto close to her I felt the faintest of twitches from the newly born beetles living inside of me.

"Cool, that sounds like fun!" Naruto said with his big, unassuming smile, "It's been awhile since I've seen that old geezer!"

One of the Hyuuga ANBU's eyes twitched, "That's _Hokage_ to you, you little…" but his threat caught in his throat when his eyes fell once again on Hinata's arms tangled around his. The man simply let out a huff before sliding his mask back on his face.

"Very well, my lady," he spoke, nodding to his companion who still held the scroll, "We've wasted enough time here."

And with that the four made their way towards the village as well. Hinata's arms still entangled around Naruto's.

"Huh, who knew the little fire ball had such an admirer, eh?" Shinji asked out loud as we watched their retreat.

"Yeah." I spoke plainly, doing my best to hold in the sigh I so desperately wanted to let out. Without another word I walked towards the village, most of the crowd had died out once they knew that Iruka was safe and that it was in fact Mizuki, who was the betrayer. Though there was still one lone figure that stood, waiting for me.

"Once father is done talking with you, please meet me in the Aburame garden, there is something I wish to speak with you about…" Itachi spoke as I passed. I made no reply, but did give him a curious look; it wasn't like him to plan a time to just _talk_. And the way he said it…it seemed almost…hesitant.

I shrugged it off; at least it had to be better than anything my father had planned to talk about with me.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"What you did…was foolish and reckless, though I am sure that much you understand."My father spoke, his eyes staring out of his bedroom window, into the night, his back facing me. When I did not reply right away he continued, "But what you _don't_ understand was the potential danger you could have placed your _entire_ clan in."

His words dug deep, I do not remember the last time he spoke to me with such disgust, such malice in his voice, and it was not something I wanted to repeat.

"Father…" I tried, "I was only trying to help my friend, Naruto could have died if Iruka and I didn't intervene."

For my father's credit he was not impatient, letting me finish everything I had to say, yet I had a sinking feeling that nothing I had to say would affect his opinion or judgment of me.

"Iruka's actions I can understand," he spoke evenly, still refusing to turn to face me, "But we are major target's now Shino. You, I, our entire clan is being targeted by the Uchihas and whoever has sworn allegiance with them by now, if that traitor Mizuki managed to capture you…what position do you think our clan and I would be in?"

My father let those words sink in, and I tried to hear them, tried to see it from his point of view, yet every time I shut my eyes all I saw was my friend's confused and terrified face, thinking about what would have happened if Iruka and I did not get there in time. Would things have been different if I had let Iruka go it alone? If I could go back would I have done it differently? I think not.

"I am sorry father, I did not think about the consequences of my actions," I said, evenly yet mindfully, "I promise that I will be more mindful in the future."

I was an expert at the mind game, to say what the opponent wanted you to say, and to say it with the right meaning behind it. Whether you wanted them to feel assured or upset, I knew how to provoke that. Though, it was my father who taught me everything I knew about it.

"Very well," he spoke, finally turning to face me, but, of course, his face betrayed nothing to what he was truly thinking, "But I am having the Hokage assign an ANBU to guard you at all times outside of our clan's walls, until you are assigned your team, I will not risk your safety any longer at this point."

"I understand, father" I said, with a curt bow. I then turned, preparing to leave, but was halted by a short cough.

"Congratulations, on passing the exam, Shino."

I stood there for a moment, not knowing what to say or do. I knew what I _wanted_ to do; I wanted to turn around, to embrace my father, to get back the man that I lost when I lost my mother, to catch up on everything we missed. But it was foolish thinking, already I could hear him turning back away, preparing for bed, the awkward discussion with his son over. So, without a word, I left his room.

XxXxXxXxX

I was awoken later that night by a soft knock at my bedroom door. Though it was a gentle tapping, I still awoke with a jolt, as if I had been awoken from some sort of frightening dream, though I could not readily think of what kind of dream I had been having, or even if it was a dream at all.

I looked over to the sound of my door being slid open, a dark figure stood in its wake, shadows masking his body and face.

"I apologize, for waking you, Shino," a soft voice spoke, its owner stepping into my room, sliding the door closed behind him.

"Itachi?" I asked, still half asleep, but a sudden realization woke me up fully, "Oh, Itachi! I'm sorry; I had forgotten I was supposed to meet you after speaking with father…"

"There is no need for apologies," Itachi insisted, holding up a shadowed hand, "I can understand that father is taking up…much of your thoughts as of late."

I did not have a ready reply for that, so I merely waited for Itachi to proceed in what he had wanted to tell me. My adopted brother knelt down on the grassy floor so I had to sit up to be able to see his darkened face. He wore the village's headband over his eyes, replacing the glasses, his mouth and nose hidden behind the large Aburame collar, if my father's face was hard to read, Itachi may as well of been a block of stone.

"To put everything simply," Itachi spoke, his hands on his knees now, his head now bending downwards, "I am here requesting your permission to become your personal guard until either your life or my life ends."

"Y-you're…what?" I asked, completely baffled and thrown off by my brother's sudden request, this was the very last thing I expected Itachi to say, and it made it even worse that he was bowing before me, as if I was his superior, "Please…Itachi, stand up…"

Itachi did not move at first, but gradually, he complied, until he was standing right beside my bed, his completely hidden face looking down at me.

"I know father intends on having an ANBU protect you, Shino," Itachi said slowly, almost carefully, "But I have been training with my Sharingan, I can see almost better than if I had my true eyes back, and I want to use this to protect you. With that, I have the best advantage if the Uchiha decide to attack you, no ANBU can defend you from them as I can…and besides that…you are my brother now, and I will feel much better about you leaving the village if I could be there with you."

Then Itachi fell silent, leaving me to contemplate everything he had said. Though, really, I had already made my decision when the first words left his mouth.

"It would be an honor, Itachi," I replied, a slight smile on my face, "But do you think father would agree with your idea?"

"If he truly wishes for your safety, then yes, he will." Itachi replied, he then gave me a slight bow, something else I still probably would never get used to seeing, no matter how much he tried to hide behind our Aburame clothing, "Thank you for your time, and your permission, Shino, but I have kept you awake long enough, if I am not mistaken, you are being assigned your team in just a few days?"

"Yeah," I replied, trying not to think about it. The looming day was growing closer and closer, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought, the more nervous I got, I was not sure what I was going to do if I was assigned to team with any of the many kids that still loathed me.

"Well, I wish you luck then, brother." And with that, Itachi gave one final bow and left my room. Leaving me with new worries, new hopes, and the lack of desire to sleep.

XxXxXxXxX

I walked into the kitchen area that morning with only Itachi to greet me, as per usual, the rest of my family were already off on their missions. Ever since the departure of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans our village has been on constant alert, as well as being constantly busy, trying to keep enemy clans at bay while at the same time trying to draw support from the friendlier villages. The lack of foreign ninja reporting in had me a bit worried, admittedly, but I was confident in the Hokage's ability to pull this village out of hardship…I hoped.

"Good morning, Shino." Itachi greeted with a slight nod, the village headband still covering his eyes.

"Morning, Itachi," I returned before seating myself at the table, a long silence soon followed that short greeting, I finding myself unable to find the will to move nor eat.

"Your father…has agreed to let me watch over you, for now." Itachi finally spoke, his head turning a fraction in my direction. I looked back at him, mildly surprised.

"How did you manage to convince him?" I asked, genuinely curious, I was almost certain my father wanted more…alert protection when it came to following me around.

"Well, that is the interesting part…I had to fight him."

"Y-you…fought him?" I asked, unable to even begin to comprehend that, simply waiting for my brother to explain more. Itachi shrugged.

"For him, it was the best way to truly see how far I have progressed, and to decide if I was the right one to be defending his son…I lost, but it was a close one," Itachi then rested his chin, through the collar, upon his hand, allowing me to see a faint smile beneath all of the clothes, "And close enough, it seems, to convince him that I was the perfect choice…as long as he never becomes the one after your life."

I couldn't help but return the smile. "That is great news, Itachi."

"I am glad that you think so," my brother said, nodding to himself, "Because I was thinking…if you planned on going out today, it would be a very good opportunity to practice being your guard, your quiet, deadly shadow, if you will, you wouldn't have to worry about me embarrassing you, for when you are on missions with your team, I shall be there, though it will be as if I wasn't, and I swore to your father that I would only interfere if things looked life threatening…that being said, if you decide to go out into the village today I will go with you, though it will appear as if I was not."

"Uhh…" I began, though I did not know what else to say, Itachi was beginning to confuse me, though I did get the part of me going out and about in the village, "Well…I was planning on going outside to collect some more insects…"

"Wonderful." Itachi commented with a nod, before standing up, "Then, when you are ready, simply leave through the front entrance, I will follow you and watch over you."

"Er…alright Itachi…"

"Enjoy your morning, brother." Itachi said, tilting his head towards me before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

I sat quietly in my chair after Itachi was gone, trying to decide whether accepting Itachi as a permanent body guard was a good idea or not. Though it wasn't but a few seconds after my brother's disappearance that I heard a loud knock on the front doors. A quick flash of an embarrassed Itachi, standing in the doorway after realizing he locked himself out almost make me smirk, but I managed to control myself before standing up and walking to the door.

"Hello-?" I began, opening the doors, only to have a great force knock into me, sending me off my feet, landing heavily into the floor. A firm hand pinned my shoulder, I quickly tried to struggle to get out but was halted when I felt a cold kunai knife press against my throat.

With my heart beating and my life flashing before my eyes I looked up into the face of my murderer.

"I-Itachi!" I exclaimed, feeling my heart beat even faster as I looked into the hidden face of my brother, in return, the blind man solemnly shook his head.

"You really need to learn to be more wary, if I was actually here to kill you, you would be dead."

With that my brother released his hands and the knife and stood back up, though I was finding it much more difficult to regain my composure.

"But…but…"

"Sorry, Shino," Itachi said, extending a helpful hand towards me, "This is another requirement your father entrusted me with if I was to become your body guard, I have to test your awareness, make you prepared for anything in case you ever find yourself in a vulnerable position."

I looked at the extended hand for a moment before accepting it, Itachi raising me from the ground.

"Being inside my home is…vulnerable?" I questioned, rubbing my now stiff and sore shoulder.

"Immensely," Itachi insisted, placing his kunai into the pouch at his hip, "As you have just experienced, being in your home makes you too relaxed, you lower your guard, making it that much easier for anyone with skill enough to reach your door and kill you."

"I…see." I said, without really seeing. My brother nodded.

"Then, I shall return to the shadows…enjoy your morning, brother." And with that Itachi disappeared once again, leaving me with the notion that he was going to enjoy his much more then I was going to enjoy mine…

XxXxXxXxX

I wasn't sure if I would ever get used to people watching me as I walked through the village. Whenever some crazy event that concerned my family, my friends or me finally seemed to be settling down something new would always turn up. Now there were whispers of Iruka and I being traitors, by helping Naruto steal the scroll and giving poor Mizuki the blame for it all. It wouldn't be long before the Hokage cleared up all of that, but, for now, it still made it difficult to venture into public.

I watched as big crowds of people made their way in huddled groups throughout the streets, all seeming to be heading to one place. It didn't take a Nara to figure out they were all heading to the old Hyuga mansion, whether Hinata actually planned on living there still I wasn't sure I was keen on finding out in a hurry. I was still trying to get over the horrid fact that I had fainted before her…again, so, the less I saw her, the more time I had to figure out what to do when I see her again…

I jumped slightly when I felt my beetles…flutter inside of my body, not that they were antsy to get out…it was as if they were… like butterflies. I rubbed my stomach carefully, slowing down my pace a bit, sure enough; the beetles seemed to be in constant motion as they wriggled they're way throughout me, they seemed nervous, definitely _not_ a trait I remember my father saying they possessed. Curious, and slightly worried, I commanded my beetles to come out, not caring to notice the whispers and stares the villagers around me produced as they flew out from my sleeves. But, no sooner were they out of my body before, without warning, they took off!

In one jumbled mass of dark, buzzing insects, they flew away from me, soaring rapidly down the street, frightening many poor unsuspecting villagers as they roared a long.

"Hey!" I shouted after them, in complete disbelief of their sudden departure, "Come back!"

When it was apparent that my beetles were refusing to take my orders I quickly pursued them. Quickly leaping onto a nearby shop's rooftop, I hunted them down from the roofs of the village. My beetles were fast but, if they were trying to lose me, they would find it near impossible. Though, I still had to watch helplessly as my beetles mowed down numbers of villagers in their rapid flight to who knows where.

"Having a little pest problem today, are we?" I heard a voice ask beside me, tearing my horrified eyes away from my rampaging beetles I saw Shikamaru, with a knowing smile and a raised eye brow above the eye patch, racing across the rooftops beside me.

"Funny," I replied, already focusing back to the cloud of destruction.

"So what happened here then?" Shikamaru persisted, his tone slightly serious enough for me to accept.

"I'm not sure," I said simply, picking up speed slightly when I noticed my swarm of beetles already beginning to slow down, "They were acting funny…inside me…so I let them out, and they just took off."

"Hm, can't say I've heard _that_ ever happen to an Aburame before," Shikamaru thought out loud, though he quickly caught himself, "Er…no offense."

"None taken," I said with a small sigh, we were close now, whatever my beetles were heading for they must be reaching it, for their speed had decreased significantly. I decided to return to the streets at that point, best to take the first opportunity to force them back inside me…if I had to. Shikamaru followed me down, our eyes trained on my beetles. While my beetles were apparently trained on…

"Shino! Shikamaru!" Naruto called out from his stool at the famous ramen shop, a small girl, dressed in robes with a hood covering her head, sat beside him, though I did not look at them long, for my focus was trained entirely on the giant swarm of chakra devouring beetles that was now slowly making its way towards the stand.

"Shino, if you're going to do something, I suggest you do it now!" Shikamaru hissed, suddenly realizing the danger of out of control Aburame beetles.

Naruto's smile shrank a bit when he caught the sign of our horrified faces, he then finally also caught sign of the giant mass of insects buzzing mere feet from the small ramen shop, his face contorted into confusion.

"Hey, Shino, what are your bugs doing outside of your body? Did they need some exercise or something?"

"Naruto…stay still," I said softly, taking slow steps towards my beetles. As I did, I noticed another, similarly robed figure standing behind the small girl in the stand, although his hood shielded his face from me as well, I knew that he was watching me.

The buzzing swarm did not seem to be interested in moving any closer, and inch by inch I made my way closer to them. When I was mere feet away I finally felt some relief, I figured that if I could just touch them I could convince them to return inside me, then Naruto, Shikamaru, and I could eat ramen together and enjoy a nice and relaxing-.

But it was just then that the young girl sitting beside Naruto decided to turn her shadowed face in my direction, and, beneath the hood, I could see her, the pale face, the white eyes, and the soft delicate smile. All at once, I felt the roar of the beetles.

"Oh, no…" I breathed out, hopelessly as the entire swarm of my beetles descended upon Hinata. All the young princess could do was let out a surprised shriek as the thousands of beetles fell upon her, instantly consuming her body from view, and before I could even think of what to do next, my entire body froze up.

All of the muscles and joints in my body stiffened, and I quickly found I could no longer move, and it didn't take long to figure out why.

"I swear, Aburame insect, if you do not release my princess now, I will kill you." The man in the robe spoke, pulling down his hood revealed to me the Hyuga man that we had met after returning to Konoha with Hinata, his eyes were much fiercer now than they were then, with thick veins protruding from them and an all consuming stare that was strained solely at me.

"Wait, please, I can-." I tried to say, only to be interrupted when a dark, shadowy figure made itself known right behind the Hyuga.

"If you dare hurt my brother," Itachi whispered, wrapping an arm around the man's neck in a head locking grip, his other arm held a kunai, which was pointing directly at his eyes, "Then I shall rip out these precious eyes of yours."

"Uchiha bastard!" the Hyuga man spat, looking malevolently at his captor, Itachi's frown deepened at that comment, his grip seeming to tighten around the Hyuga's throat.

"Itachi, stop!" Shikamaru suddenly declared, he then slapped his hands together in a sign that I couldn't remember seeing him use before, and, before my own eyes, I saw my friend's shadow stretch across the ground, extending until it connected with Itachi's shadow. I saw my brother's eyes widen in surprise, and I watched as his arm began to remove itself from the Hyuga's neck, though it shook with immense strain, as if he didn't want it to move. Slightly confused, I looked back over to my friend, to see that his arm and stance was in very much the same position Itachi was in.

"I can see that…you look confused…" Shikamaru breathed, talking as if he was in extreme strain, "It's my family's…bloodline…Shadow Possession…of sorts…but your brother is…making it much harder than it needs to be…"

Shikamaru's own arm was shaking in extreme effort as he seemed to try to force his will on my brother.

"You are a good friend of my brother…don't make me have to… kill you as well, Shikamaru." Itachi warned gently, though his face showed that he was having some trouble regaining the control of his arm.

"If you…kill that Hyuga…you could send…this whole village into a war!" Shikamaru returned; sweat beginning to fall down his face, "Let's just…all of us…give Shino a chance to…"

"_**Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**_

And, before Shikamaru could determine some kind of peaceful arrangement, all of us, I included, found ourselves with a kunai pressed against our necks, each one held by an orange claded ninja with a huge smile on his face.

"Hah! Looks like I win!" the goofy ninjas announced with triumphant laughs.

"Naruto…" Shikamaru breathed, the eyebrow above his eye patch twitching, "….just…what….in the _hell_…do you think…your doing?"

"Well, everyone else was doing it…" the Naruto behind Shikamaru replied, scratching his cheek with his spare hand, "I just thought I could play to…"

"We are not…_playing_…you hard headed dim wit! We are trying to save!-!"

Another, familiar, shriek brought everyone back down to earth, the Naruto clones and their 'captives' all looked over to see Hinata rolling around in the ground, my beetles all over her, clothes, her face, her hair, but…she didn't appear to be in pain, or even scared…she seemed to be…laughing…

"They're….they're tickling me!" Hinata cried between fits of laughter, "Oh, Shino, make them stop hehehe pl-please!"

"I would be happy to, Hinata," I said, as smoothly as I could while giving my Hyuga friend a questioning look. With a snarl the Hyuga's eyes returned to normal…well…more normal then they were, and I instantly felt the tightness of my body melt away.

As soon as I was free Itachi's face, or what showed of it, seemed to relax as well, giving Shikamaru enough reason to release his technique, he did so with a very weary sigh.

"That is certainly enough excitement for one ninja career…" he muttered, he then looked back at the Naruto that still held a kunai up to him, "You know, play time is over, yall can go away now."

"Hah! We do whatever we want now!" the Naruto that held him captive taunted, sticking out a tongue at him, "And there is nothing you can do about it!"

Shikamaru looked at the laughing Naruto for a few more seconds before lifting his leg and kicking the laughing boy in the shin. Naruto's reaction was instant, hoping around on one foot he held his hurt leg as the other clones of him vanished into clouds of smoke.

"Man! How'd you know I was the real one?" Naruto asked, falling on his butt as he massaged his hurt shin. Shikamaru looked down at him and smiled smugly.

"Lucky guess."

Itachi moved away from the Hyuga as soon as the Naruto clones had vanished, though the two men did not remove their gazes from one another until a few more moments after that.

"Just try and keep still for a moment," I said to Hinata, the girl still trying to stifle her laughter, I held up my hands to the insects and commanded them to re-enter. At first, I didn't hear any response, and I quickly felt my stomach drop, but seconds later my insects complied, removing themselves from Hinata clump by clump, slowly making their way back up my sleeves and into my body.

"Sorry about that, Hinata," I apologized as soon as all the beetles were safely tucked away.

"Oh, don't worry about it Shino," Hinata said, with a playful wink that I swore made time stood still for a fraction of a second, "It was fun…though I think the whole thing attracted quite an audience."

She then looked around the small ramen stand, and I followed her gaze to see a large group of people watching us all apprehensively.

"Wonderful," I muttered without thinking, "Now they are going to be calling me the Hyuga Heiress Harasser."

Though I instantly regretted saying it, Hinata chuckled, for a terrifying moment I thought my beetles would burst out of me by the way they were moving in there.

"You never told me you had such a sense of humor."

I tried to think of what to say to that, but instead I was interrupted when I felt someone's hand slap my shoulder.

"Shino? Sense of humor? I didn't even think those words could coexist!" Shikamaru teased, and I couldn't really tell because of the eye patch, but I was pretty sure that he winked at me as he said it.

"How cool was that, Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran up to her, I couldn't help but notice her face get a shade redder as he approached, "That's what Shino's bugs did to me the first time we met!"

"Really? Your beetles must have a knack for finding friends." Hinata said, still looking at me, though I figured it was just because she found it too hard to look at Naruto.

"Or for attacking them," I said with a shrug, just then, I felt a sudden presence behind me.

"I will return to the shadows now, brother," I heard Itachi whisper, "I will continue keeping a close eye on you…and another on the Hyuga in the meantime, oh, and enjoy the rest of the day with your friends, I must say I am enjoying mine much more than I thought I would."

And on those eerie thoughts I felt the presence leave, none of the others made any notice that they had overheard or seen what had just happened.

"So, where should we go next?" Shikamaru asked, though his eye was now focusing on the sky, "The day is still young…"

"How about a place to lose this crowd?" Hinata offered, indicating the general area around them, "Believe it or not, there are some pretty cool stuff that I found while living out in the woods, if you want I can show you guys."

"That sounds awesome!" Naruto declared.

"Sure, why not, as long as the trees don't blot out the sky too much," Shikamaru said with an uncaring shrug. Hinata then looked at me; I almost had to swallow to keep the beetles from flying out of my mouth.

"Sounds fun," I said with a nod, doing my best to remain the stoic Shino, while, at the same time, trying to fight back the primal fury that was building up inside me.

XxXxXxXxX

…

The Hokage looked amongst the assorted papers sprawled out over his desk, chewing on his pipe thoughtfully. He had learned so much from the recently discovered Hinata, and yet, he still had so many unanswered questions

"The entire clan…vanishing into the wilderness….except for her," the Hokage mumbled to himself, reading over one particular paper, "No traces of bodies, no signs of any struggle anywhere near the village…an entire shinobi clan, vanishing into the air…"

The Hokage rubbed his weary eyes, a long sigh letting out a large puff of smoke.

"Oh Orochimaru, what have you gotten into this time?"

XxXxXxXxX

_**To Be Continued…**_


	25. The Team

**How it Feels to Hatch**

**Chapter 25**

**The Team**

XXXXXX

The young boy stood still in the center of the pitch black room, small chest heaving as his hidden eyes scanned over the bodies that he knew lay on its floors. Somewhere in the distance he could hear a soft, hissing laughter begin to echo in the cavernous room.

"You are progressing very well, Sasuke." A man spoke, it's cold, sinister voice washing over the young boy like ice water, "You're father would be proud."

The boy clenched his fists.

"I don't care what _he_ thinks." The boy shot back, his eyes scanning the dark room. The darker form watched the boy, a wider smile spreading across his thin, pale face.

"I see." The voice called back through the blackness, "The time to strike is growing close…and you will need to improve much more before you impress _me_."

The boy felt his rage begin to spread, but he quickly calmed himself, taking in slow breaths, just as his master had taught him.

"But how much more?" the boy pleaded through the dark, eyes still searching, "I have already beaten almost all of your top shinobi, I've taken out the leader of the Sand Village, and I have killed my sorry excuse of a father. All of this in your name."

"Yes, and I am more than grateful for it." The sinister man responded. The boy could hear the voice more clearly, as if he was growing closer. "But your training is not complete, I need you at your best child, you are to be the assassin who succeeds where so many others have failed."

The boy perked up at that. For years his master had refused to speak to him about what his intentions are, he refused to explain while he trained him to near death almost every day, why he sent him on these near death missions to assassinate key figures. It was all a test, every part of it.

"…there is still something that bothers you, isn't there?" the voice spoke, almost like a whisper in his ear, the boy couldn't help but flinch at those words, "Still something from your past that weakens you, even after all the years you spent under me."

"Master…" the boy spoke, bangs covering his face as he subconsciously clenched his fists again.

"You wonder why I have taken you under my wing, why I have trained you, beaten you, and tortured you." Orochimaru spoke, stepping in front of the shaking boy, smile still on his face as he looked down upon him, "Speak his name, child, speak the name of the one who destroyed your clan, humiliated you, and stole away your brother…and you will have your answer."

Sasuke looked up at his master, bright red eyes piercing through the blackness of the room.

"_**Shino Aburame!"**_

XXXXXX

_Shino Aburame _

"What?" I mumbled, cracking open my tired eyes to see a smiling figure standing over me.

"I said it's time to get up cousin." Shinji spoke, folding his arms with a smile still on his tan face as he looked down on me, "You're going to miss your big selection day at the Academy!"

I looked at Shinji for a brief moment; the Aburame now sported a long sleeved dark shirt, with one of the sleeves intentionally removed revealing more tanned skin with a long v-neck replacing the usual high collar. He still wore the sunglasses of our clan though I could guess that was simply because his eyes were not used to the world without them. Looking away from my strange cousin I fixed my gaze at the large windows of the room, the sun already out and strong.

"You alright there?" my cousin pressed, giving me an amused look, "Even I don't have problems with the Aburame way of sleeping!"

"I'm fine." I replied, sitting up and rubbing my strangely sore head. I could faintly remember hanging out with my friends in the woods last night, gazing up at the stars, but I was still half asleep and the more I tried to think the more my head pounded.

"You sure?" Shinji asked, following my movements as I slowly stood up before him. "You're looking paler than usual."

I simply nodded, no longer feeling up to talking as I walked past him, towards my closet.

"In case you were wondering, you're Father and Azami are still out on that 'top secret mission'" Shinji continued as I threw on my coat, I could hear the jealousy in his voice as he spoke those last three words.

"_Someone_ needs to watch out for this place." I replied, looking back at my cousin, knowing what he was thinking.

"Oh please." Shinji retorted, I was almost ninety percent sure he was rolling his eyes, "You and you're father both know that even with his blindness Itachi can 'watch out' for things much better than I can."

I could only shrug back at Shinji's remark. I tried not to even think about the whole ordeal, my father had left with Azami in the middle of the night a few days ago without telling me, Shinji, or Itachi, that was that. It still hurt to think about it, but I was gradually getting used to my father's distance.

Without another word I walked past Shinji and made my way out the door.

"Good luck with the selection thing!" my cousin called after me as I walked towards the kitchen. I entered the humble looking room and quickly took notice of the bundled up Itachi sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for me as he usually did.

"Good morning, Shino." Itachi greeted, looking at me through his headband. At first I nodded though I quickly caught myself.

"Morning." I answered, sitting at the table and immediately partaking in the food that was laid out before me.

"Did you make this?" I asked as I ate. Ever since my father got rid of all the servants at our home I had assumed he had been making the food.

"Believe it or not, this was Shinji's doing." My brother answered with an amused tone in his voice, "Evidentially Azami has been teaching him to cook these past few years."

"I see." I answered, biting into a rice ball. I ate in silence for a few moments before Itachi spoke up again.

"Are you feeling well, Shino?" Itachi asked, I looked up from my eating to see him gazing at me through his headband and high collar, if I didn't know better I would think I was staring at a pile of clothing. "You are here later than usual and you sound…un-well."

"I'm fine." I answered for the second time that morning. I then proceeded to take another bite of my food when a sudden, sensation took over my nose and throat. Before I could even know what to do next a strange feeling blew through my nose and mouth, with it a small handful of my beetles, hitting Itachi square in the face. The shinobi fell back with a surprised gasp, falling promptly out of his chair.

"I'm sorry!" I called, quickly covering up my nose and mouth in case the strange feeling happened again. My beetles disappeared back through my sleeves as Itachi stood back up, brushing off his long coat.

"It's quite alright." My brother spoke, waving off my apology as he sat back down. We sat in silence as I continued to hold my nose and mouth closed while Itachi sat almost awkwardly across from me.

"What…what was that?" I finally asked, knowing I had to head to school soon but also knowing that I had to know what strange thing took over my senses. Itachi's head rose slightly at that, and if I didn't know better that strange noise he began to make but quickly stifled sounded close to a snicker…

"That was what we call a sneeze, brother." Itachi answered.

XXXXXX

"Good morning, Shino." Shikamaru greeted me as I stepped out from my giant front doors. I sniffed slightly as I looked from his eye patch to Naruto and Hinata who stood beside him, Hinata's Hyuga Handyman standing silently behind her.

"Hey Shino!" Naruto called, brushing past our sarcastic friend so he could stand closest to me and giving me his biggest smile he looked up at me. "Hey, are you feeling ok? You're looking paler than usual today."

"I'm fine." I answered curtly, stepping down from my stairs and walked slightly past him, "Good morning Shikamaru, Hinata…Hinata's servant."

"My _name_ is Hayato." The Hyuga said with a bit of distaste before catching himself and bowing low, "And ah, a good morning to you, Shino Aburame."

I simply nodded back to Hayato, my head pounding too hard to be all that concerned with his tone.

"So what are you all doing here?" I asked, knowing that Shikamaru and Naruto lived relatively far away from my home.

"Well, it's over the top troublesome," Shikamaru spoke up with a lazy shrug, "But we all figured that this was a kind of special day and after we get assigned our teams we probably won't be able to see much of each other for awhile so…you know."

"We gotta stick together for as long as possible!" Naruto helped finish for the sarcastic boy, patting me on the shoulder.

I couldn't help but smile faintly at Naruto's overly big smile and was fixing to voice my thanks when a knock rang out from behind my large double doors.

"I'll get it!" Naruto said immediately, racing over to the doors.

"Um, anyone else curious as to why someone is knocking from _inside_ the house?" Shikamaru pointedly asked. Realization quickly dawned on me.

"Naruto wait don't answer that door!" I called to my friend, only to see him in the middle of doing just what I had told him not to do.

"What did you say Shino?" My friend asked me, as the door opened, revealing a dark figure standing right behind it.

"I have you now!" The figure announced, extending a hand towards Naruto. My blonde headed friend let out a cry of terror and before anyone else could react sent a kick into the man, hitting him directly between his legs. The figure froze in place, hand still extended.

"Itachi!" Naruto exclaimed, sounding very annoyed, "Why would you go and scare me like that!"

Indeed, after looking closely enough it was in fact Itachi standing there in front of Naruto, still frozen in the same position, his covered face hidden from us all.

"Itachi?" I asked, stepping towards the two, "Are you alright?"

"…I'll see you after school…Shino…" Itachi spoke softly before standing up very slowly and closing the doors softly behind him.

**XXXXXX**

"From this day forward you are no longer mere students of ninjutsu but full-fledged shinobi. But among the ranks of shinobi you are mere novices, lowest of the low. Your greatest challenges all lie ahead." Master Iruka spoke to us all in a voice full of pleasure and confidence. "The next step is the assignment of official duties to you all on behalf of our village. We will begin by dividing you into three-man cells. Each of which will be mentored by a Jonin, a more senior ninja…who will guide and coach you as you become familiar with your various assignments."

I looked around at the entirety of the classroom. The numbers of students shrank by a surprising rank, though the others that were left still gave our small group a wide berth of space. Sakura and her blonde headed friend didn't even seem to care enough to insult us anymore, the others seeming to fall in suit.

"Just a heads up," Shikamaru whispered to us, "I'm going to be paired with that chubby guy whose always eating chips and the blonde girl with the evil face, I know we haven't been on good terms with them but this can't be helped, so no hard feelings, ok?"

"Are you serious! That fat kid poured some of his chips down my back the other day!" Naruto hissed back with fury.

"How are you so sure that you are being paired with them?" I asked, genuinely curious, Shikamaru smirked in response.

"It's a family thing. Our dads used to be in their own 3 man cell back in the day and they had a pretty unbeatable combination. I guess as they say, why fix something that's not broken?"

"Sounds troublesome to me." I pointed out with a smile. Shikamaru chuckled softly.

"You have no idea."

Iruka then began to call out the cell numbers and who was being assigned together. I didn't really pay attention for most of them except for when Shikamaru's name was called out.

"Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi, you 3 will make up cell 10."

I could faintly here a chocking sound as if someone accidentally swallowed their chips down the wrong hole. I looked over at Ino, expecting some sort of outburst from the blonde, only to see her sitting perfectly still as she always had been. I couldn't help but notice Iruka was looking at her in the same expectant way.

"Is she still upset about the whole Sasuke leaving the village ordeal?" Shikamaru whispered to us before taking a moment to think and finally shrugging, "Oh well, she'll get over it, Academy crushes never work out anyways. And maybe I can get some peace and quiet for the first few weeks of the nightmare that is to be our squad."

"Not with chubby chip chewer over there!" Naruto hissed back, still eyeing Choji warily.

"Now, if everyone has been keeping count that leaves us with four potential shinobi that have yet to be assigned to a squad. Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki, I would like you four to come see me, the rest of you are dismissed to seek out your respective teachers."

Naruto, Shikamaru, and I shared silent glances for a brief moment before Shikamaru smirked and abruptly stood up.

"Well I'm off to start my troublesome life as a shinobi, you two have fun."

"See ya Shikamaru, have fun with chubby and blondie!" Naruto called with a smile and a wave, I tried my own attempt at a sympathetic smile as our one-eyed teammate left to face his destiny. Naruto and I both stood up as well and made our way to Iruka at the front of the classroom.

Sakura and the boy with the triangle marks on his cheeks, Kiba, were already waiting. The brown haired boy looked at us with an unimpressed expression on his face before sniffing and turning his head away, the small puppy on his head following its master's actions to the mark. I looked over to Sakura to see her already looking at me; I politely nodded in her direction and was immediately taken off guard when she smiled slightly in response.

"H-hey there Sakura." Naruto greeted nervously, a fresh blush on his face. Sakura suddenly lost her smile and gave my friend the scariest of looks before facing Iruka, Naruto's blush quickly disappeared behind a white veil of fear.

"The first thing I would like to do is congratulate you four personally on reaching the level of Genin, this is an achievement not only for yourselves, but for our entire village." Iruka began, looking at each of us in turn with a smile on his face. "Now that brings us to your next phase in training. As I told you all before, Genin are put into squads of four with three Genin shinobi and a Jonin master to train them, we've had unequal numbers before but in most cases we try to split the numbers as evenly as possible for each Jonin to be training the most number of students. However we seem to have in our possession two Hyuga shinobi who are very eager to rejoin our village and fight for our cause."

Iruka then turned to the door nearest to his desk and with a wave of his hand he called: "Come on in, Hinata, Neji."

Immediately the door opened and in stepped the two Hyuga children. My eyes were trained on the taller Hyuga boy for only a moment before they fixated on Hinata. She had cut her hair short again, back like I had remembered when we were younger, but her new clothes were a lot darker and more closely hugged her body, I found it a strange challenge to keep my eyes above her neck.

"Neji here was brought to us by Shino's family years ago. Since then he has been studying with medical jutsu and has developed quite a knack for it. Neji, I would like you to meet Naruto, Shino and Sakura, Kiba and Akamaru, these three will be your new teammates."

Neji at first smiled politely at Naruto and I but his pale eyes widened slightly when Iruka said those last words. He slowly turned to Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru, the two shinobi gave him their own welcoming smiles, the puppy even barked in hello though Neji remained silent, I watched as he slowly raised his hands and began pressing his two pointer fingers together.

"H-hello." He greeted softly, his head focused to the ground. Sakura gave the boy a confused glance while Kiba just rolled his eyes.

"And Hinata, I know you are already quite familiar with your two new teammates."

"Yes, I am." Hinata said, looking first at Naruto and giving him her sweetest of smiles before simply nodding towards me. Naruto grinned in response while I struggled to force a smile admits my conflicting emotions.

"Well with the introductions out of the way I would like you all to follow your respective Hyuga's to your Jonin instructors, they know where to go."

"See you later then Shino, good luck." Sakura said to me with a wave and a smile, once again taking me off guard.

"Yeah, you too." I replied with a wave of my own as the groups went our separate ways.

"Bye Sakura!" Naruto called but the pink haired girl and her teammates had already disappeared from the room.

"Man, Shino you're so lucky having Sakura talk to you so much." Naruto huffed as soon as we were outside.

"She only said one thing to me." I pointed out, quirking a brow at Naruto.

"That's more than she's said to me in my entire life!"

I could only shrug in response to that, Hinata gave Naruto an almost hurt expression before facing away again. We continued walking in silence, Hinata in the lead, with Naruto and me trailing behind her. I tried to concentrate my thoughts on the positives. Now wasn't the time to be arguing and thinking about negative things. My bugs itched with excitement beneath my skin, despite the cool and controlled exterior I maintained I was slowly being consumed with happiness and anticipation. My best friend and Hinata were in the same squad as me, we were going to be doing missions together and training together and hang out and…and…

I needed to get it together. Maybe thinking about too many positive things is still a bit too much to handle. Taking in a deep breath I slowly released it in a calming sigh. I looked over at Naruto, wishing he'd get over his strange slump so he could act all hyper active and excited before my own excitement completely took over.

"Well here we are." Hinata announced, turning to us with a big, strange smile on her face. Naruto squinted up at the building behind her.

"This place looks kinda familiar…" He muttered as he continued to concentrate on the building. Meanwhile my excitement immediately got buried under the weight of confusion.

"But…Hinata…" I began, unable to tear my eyes away from the mansion, "…this is…my house."

"I know." Hinata replied, smile still on her face. "Naruto, Shino, I would like you both to meet our new Jonin leader…"

Then, as if on cue, the large double doors of the Aburame clan creaked open and a shadowed figure stepped slowly out from them. I heard Naruto gasp slightly as I felt my own eyes widen to their limits. The tall man smiled slightly as he looked down on us, specifically me.

"I hope you had a good day today, little brother."

**XXXXXXX **

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
